Cry Of Eternity: Cont
by Z.A.G
Summary: Vain is dead but Dregon remains. The group searches for a way to stop his schemes, but conflicts within the group may prove fatal. Is the end near? Or is it merely the beginning? COMPLETE! THAT'S RIGHT! I SAID COMPLETE! WHOOHOOO!
1. Sephiroth, As We Once Knew Him

Howdy y'all! Sorry it took awhile to update. But I got myself a new video game to play 0) Shadow Hearts 2: Conevant. Much better then Shadow Hearts. Better graphics, people actually have voices, and lots of movie things. The game is on two discs... I'm still on the first lol. The first ten minutes of the game is one long movie thing. The game take place after or during World War One.. with obvious changes. The freaky hero Yuri, the same person in the first game, can still change into demons and stuff. In SH2 he is often referred to as the 'Godslayer'. The heroine is named Karin, who's a Russian lieutenant, she leads a team to Domecary, where Yuri is currently residing, in hopes to sack the town.

While in a church Yuri breaks through the window in one of his demon forms and the men begin to attack him. Karin is knocked off to the side by one of her allies, to protect her... during the end of the battle the men try and flee and through a bomb at the demon, which he just flings it off to the side, where Karin is sitting. Then everything is in slow motion as Karin stares into those sorrow filled eyes of the demon. Then the bomb goes off, and the smoke clears and we see Yuri, still as a demon, holding Karin protectively.

Why does he do this? In the first game, Shadow Hearts, his lover, as some people called her, Alice sacrificed her life and soul to lift a curse off of Yuri. One year later, BAM! An Alice look alike in the form of Karin shows up at the church, except Karin has red hair instead of blonde. Well after the bomb thing, Yuri puts the unconscious Karin on the floor of the church as walks out of the church leaving her there. They eventually get tossed together in this plot that when you think you know what's going on, it takes a twist and makes you even more clueless then before. Heh heh heh... guess the people who made the game like messing with people's minds, I love those kind of games!

Whoa... sorry about the uh... babbling or advertising for the game lol, just thought I'd share what I'd been doing as of late. Well anyways, someone said they got confused on the last chapter about when I said Cloud seeing a crimson blur and turns and sees that Vincent is about to pass him as well. I did indeed say Vincent has a black snowboard and I did say crimson blur. Vincent's cloak is crimson, that's where I got that. Sorry for the confusion.

Oh.. to answer your questions Heiei (Spell?) The language I choose for the demon tongue is called... Zagease! lol. I created it myself! (Proud smile) My idea for the plot sort of just came to me as I thought one night. Actually... the only idea for a plot I had in the very beginning was Wutai being destroyed and Yuffie traveling to Coasta Del Solo all hurt and everything. The plot just kept getting better as I continued to write, and some of the ideas came from friends as well.

Well anyways, why don't I get this started already?

Disclaimer- (Elbows Vincent in the side) Come on... won't you give me at least SOME details?

Vincent- (Crosses his arms) .......no.

(Pouts) Did you even do anything with her!?

Vincent- (Smirks slightly) That is none of your business.

Grrr.... Fine! Sigh.... Anyways! I don't own Final Fantasy 7, someone recently told me to make this fic into a movie though lol. I most say... that would be a very long movie... maybe a series would work though heh heh heh. I'd just need to revise this entire fic and get some money. Revising this would be one pain in the ass though since it's so damn long lol.

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AN- Remember everyone! This is taking place right after the last chapter in Cry Of Eternity, hence the reason why this is called Cry Of Eternity Cont. This ain't a sequal! It's just continuing where I left off. Anyways, I hope ya enjoy!

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Sephiroth, As We Once Knew Him

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Professor! She's waking!

'....who's there?'

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Is everything ready?

'That voice...'

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Yes, shall we begin?

'....Why can't I move my arms or legs?'

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Tee hee hee, yes we will.

'Where am I?'

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Time for you to open your eyes.

Yuffie gives out a soft groan as her eyes flutter open. Stormy grey eyes scan around the room, taking in the sight of the strange machines. Various wires are attached to the small round pads that are stuck to the sides of her head. She stares at the wires strangely for a moment before her eyes travel to her bound arms and legs. She immediately realizes she's bound down to a laboratory table, making her have a strange feeling of deja-vu. She gives her right hand an experimental tug, to test her bounds.

"Don't waste your strength, you can't escape." Yuffie's head snaps forward, her gaze landing on Hojo. Yuffie stops her struggles and remains quiet, finding it in her best interest to remain silent while being held captive. She turns her gaze to one of the assistants as they walk up to Hojo, "Good you have it." Hojo says, grabbing the injection needle that the assistant has.

"What the hell is that?" Yuffie finally speaks, getting a little unnerved at the sight of the needle. Yes, Yuffie Kisaragi, The Greatest Female Ninja, the one who helped defeat countless enemies who threatened the life of the planet, is afraid of needles. Can you blame her? Having a piece of metal jabbed into your skin and then having whatever's in it, injected into your body, isn't exactly a happy situation.

Hojo just seems to ignore her question as he asks his own, "Tell me, what do you dream about?" Yuffie raises an eyebrow at the question but doesn't reply. "Did you know that a person has an average of two hundred different dreams in just one night? And yet they don't remember any of them. Just one, the one that seems to be the mind's choice to remember." Hojo steps closer to Yuffie, a small smirk beginning to form on his face, "In theory, if you die in your dreams, your mind shuts down, causing your body to follow behind the mind. Of course, this is only a theory, it hasn't been proven yet, it's rather intriguing when you think about it."

"What the heck are you babbling on about!?" Yuffie shouts, from irritated with Hojo and his scientific mumbo jumbo. If she understood any bit of it, she'd say her IQ was up ten points higher than it's suppose to be. "YEOWCH!" Yuffie yells feeling the needle being jammed into her arm. Hojo removes the needle, the smirk never leaving his face. "What the..." Yuffie's eyes slowly close as she succumbs to the sweet surrender of sleep.

Hojo turns away, the smirk dropping from his face as he glances about his assistants in the room, "Monitor her brain waves until she reawakens."

------

Cloud bursts through the snow, shaking his head to rid himself of the frozen particles that are sticking to his head. "Everyone alright?" He asks glancing around as other began making their way out of the white powdery substance.

"I'm freezing!" Tifa announces. Her teeth clatter as her hands rub her upper arms frantically in an attempt to make some warmth.

Red XIII stands up and shakes the snow out of his fur coat, "Seems the planet wanted to keep people from ever coming this way again."

Reno reaches a shaking hand into his pocket to pull out his package of cigarettes, placing one in his mouth, he searches his pockets for a means of lighting it. He frowns as her realizes he lost his lighter. He grins as an idea crosses his mind, leaning down to Red XIII's tail, he lights the cigarette on the small flame at the end of the beast's tail, much to Red XIII's annoyance. "My tail is not for lighting your cigarettes Reno."

Reno shrugs his shoulders uncaringly, "If you can give me a better purpose for it, then you let me know."

Tifa shakes her head before looking around, "Where's everyone else?"

Cloud crosses his arms and lowers his head in thought, "Sephiroth, Vincent, and Daisuke, ended up going down the left path." He replies.

"And Rima?" Red XIII questions, not forgetting about the group's resident vampire.

Cloud shakes his head, "I don't know."

------

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Rima watches through the window as the snow continue to fall outside. A white soft blanket of snow slowly covering the buildings and streets outside. The smell of burning wood fills the air as the fire crackles in the fireplace across the room. Looking over her shoulder, she stares at the sleeping man for a moment before her attention goes back to the scenery outside her window. Rima crosses her arms around herself, the black bathrobe brushing against her skin in return. She leans her forehead against the cold window, finding the extra support helpful since her body still felt soar from the workout she got not even an hour ago. A faint blush paints her already flushed cheeks at the memory.

A blanket wraps around her body with the help of a pair of hands. Strong arms then wrap themselves around her waist. With a small smile gracing her lips, Rima leans back into the man's chest, never taking her gaze off of the scenery. A chin rests onto her left shoulder as the owner stares out the window as well. "Pretty, isn't it?" Rima turns her head to the side to give him a strange look. "What?"

Rima shakes her head, giving a short laugh, "Nothing Seph. Just never pictured you as the type to actually enjoy a scene."

Sephiroth gives a half smile at the comment, "Well it must be if you're standing here watching it."

"I ... guess it is." Rima admits. Silence fills the room as the couple stand in front of the window, each wrapped up in their own thoughts. "So..." Rima says suddenly.

"So..." Sephiroth repeats.

"Well?"

Sephiroth blinks a bit confused, "Well what?" Rima turns her head to look at him and raises an eyebrow. It takes a moment for it to sink in, but he finally catches on. With a chuckle, Sephiroth answers the unspoken question. "It was fine." He answers, after a moment he adds, "Besides.. it was my first time too."

Brows raise in surprise at the confession, "It was?" Rima asks, her voice matching her surprise. Sephiroth rolls his eyes at the question. Rima lowers her head feeling a bit embarrassed, "I just figured that since you're so admired across the world.."

"That I'd have women throwing themselves at my feet?" Sephiroth finishes with a cocky smirk across his face. Rima merely nods her head. "I do... I just never acted on it."

Rima responds with a simple 'Oh' before the silence falls back into place. Rima can't help but smirk from the feel of Sephiroth lips drawing kisses down her neck, "Catching your second wind I presume." She comments humorously. She turns around in his arms and captures his lips with her own. Before she knows it, she's being carried back to the bed.

Rima's eyes snap open as she sits straight up. She brings her hand up to rub her temples as a headache begins to make itself noticed. 'Another memory..' She thinks to herself. She can almost smell wood burning like in her dream. 'Wait a minute... I do smell wood burning' She realizes. Turning her head to the side, she notices a small fire burning, glancing around, she realizes that she's in a cave.

Now the questions of how she got there and who made the fire form in her head. The last thing she remembers is being chased by an avalanche on the mountain side. She doesn't have to wait long before her questions are answered. Her savior makes his way into the cave, carrying an armful of fresh wood that he must of unburied from the snow. Rima moves her lips, but no words come out.

------

Sephiroth stands up, the frozen dust particles falling off of his body. Glancing around the area, he finds a handle protruding out of the snow. Recognizing it as the Masamune, he treks through the deep snow to retrieve it. Out of the corner of his eye he catches a glimpse of crimson that makes its way out of the snow. Vincent stands up, shaking the snow out of his ebony hair. He reaches back into the snow with his left hand and pulls out Daisuke who wrapped herself in a ball to try to warm up, her entire body trembling from the cold. "I'm frickin' freezin'!" Daisuke shouts.

Vincent rolls his eyes before dropping her back on the ground. After listening to a few colorful words come out of the treasure hunter's mouth, Vincent looks over to Sephiroth. "What shall we do now?"

Sephiroth examines the blade of the Masamune, making sure it isn't damaged any before sheathing it. He straightens out his black cape before replying, "We'll head towards the cabin that's near the base of the cliffs. We'll wait for the rest there."

Vincent nods his head in agreement, "I think that would be best."

"I don't care what you think." Sephiroth replies coldly before turning around and heading off in the direction of the cabin.

"W-w-wha-t-t w-w-was tha-a-a-at abo-o-ut?" Daisuke asks as she continues to jog in place with her arms wrapped around herself, trying to warm up her body.

Vincent's brows lower as he watches Sephiroth walk off ahead. Turning his head to the treasure hunter, he can't help but arch an eyebrow. It looks like every muscle in Daisuke's body is trembling. Vincent shakes his head once before he begins heading in the direction Sephiroth went. After a few steps, a tug at his crimson cape catches his attention, causing him to turn around to see Daisuke wrapping the crimson cape around herself, while trying to keep at least a foot behind him.

------

Cloud glances back to check on the rest of the group, despite the snowstorm that seemed to appear out of nowhere, Cloud figured it would be best to continue on, at least until they make it into the cliff where they'll be protected from the chilling winds. Small clusters of icy particles continue to gather up at the tips of his spiky hair, making it appear like he has icicles forming in his hair. He shakes his head rapidly, flinging the offending snow flakes from his locks. Cloud licks his chapped lips, getting ready to speak up, "Hold on everyone! We're almost there!" He shouts over the howling winds.

Tifa nods her head as she presses forward, followed closely by Red XIII. To Reno's credit, he stopped complaining about the cold and the impossibility of lighting a cigarette with the harsh winds. He didn't even make any snide remarks to Cloud's comment, even though it was the fifth time Cloud has already said it in the last hour or so. He just keeps quiet, too cold to do anything else then walk and try to remember what it feels like to be warm.

Cloud turns back around and lowers his head a bit to protect his eyes from the harsh storm. He begins pressing forward once again, trying to remember the direction that he's suppose to go. After all, who says that he can't get lost every once in awhile? "Look Cloud!" Tifa shouts excited.

Cloud glances up to see a log cabin in the distance. Recognition flashes through his eyes. He forgot about the old climber's cabin that they stayed at to rest, the first time they climbed the mountain. Perhaps if they're lucky the owner won't mind giving them some shelter.

------

Even though he knows he shouldn't worry about such things, Sephiroth can't help but remember last night. The thought of Rima and Valentine together, doesn't fit well with the Masamune's wielder. But why should it matter anyway? Did he not decide a while back that he's not meant for this world, and that once this battle is over, he will no longer be part of this world? That doesn't give much comfort. With each second that passes by, his fury grows more. Making him think thoughts that he believed were Jenova's influence long ago, but this time, there's no one to blame for such murderous thoughts. A fury he knows all too well, one that frightens even himself, makes him picture a few pleasing scenes involving an ex-Turk and his Masamune.

'Valentine isn't the only one to blame.' His inner conscience, one thought to have been gone forever, speaks to him, 'She went to him willingly, did she not?' There's truth to the words, Sephiroth knows that. One can't be blamed for the actions of both. But than again, what faults did they make? He hasn't showed much interest in Rima for a long time. The last time he did must have been her birthday. Can you blame him though? There's much important matters to deal with than one's need, and you have to admit, there isn't much privacy when you're constantly traveling in a group day in, day out. Sephiroth is not one to show much emotion in public.

Than that annoying little voice in his head begins to make itself noticed again, 'Than again, Valentine should know better than to have anything to do with any woman that's yours, past or present. He could of refused her, like he does with so many others. Since when does he want any sort of relationship with anyone?'

Sephiroth's eyes narrow as a new thought crosses his mind, 'Perhaps he wishes to cause me pain, physical or not." Sephiroth's eyes glance over to his right where the man in question walks, matching his pace. Vincent's face remains expressionless, as they continue to march through the storm, blissfully unaware of the thoughts going through Sephiroth's mind. Feeling eyes watching him, Vincent turns his gaze over to Sephiroth, but the swordsman's gaze was already averted back to the path ahead. Letting his gaze linger there for a moment, Vincent shakes his head before averting his own gaze back forward.

'He took her away from you.' His conscience continues, 'What's he planning on taking next? Your life perhaps? He used to be a Turk, he knows ways to kill a man without leaving a trail to himself.' Sephiroth's eyes narrow a bit more, 'He could already be planning to and is just waiting for the right moment. But he can't succeed if you strike the first blow...' Sephiroth's hand rests on the hilt on the Masamune, his finger tapping on it as if he's impatient. 'You know what you must do, you're both in the middle of the storm, there's no better time then now. Let the ruthless General out just one more time and finish something before it even starts. Kill him!' His conscience seems to scream the last two words, and Sephiroth obeys. Quicker than any normal human reflexes, the Masamune is pulled out of its sheath and is sent whizzing towards his victim, Vincent.


	2. The Secrets We Hold

Guess who's back. Back again. Zack is back, call some friends. Guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back. Howdy y'all! Been awhile. And guess what! I have a really good excuse this time! No really! See, the thing is, my computer was being rebuilt, to get the viruses out and make it faster and stuff. So I was internet-less for awhile.. actually for a couple of weeks... I think... lost track of how long. But yea! I had no control over it whatsoever. So this time, it wasn't my fault 0) Good thing is... we just ended up throwing the computer away, once we got it back because it still didn't work, and we got a new one. This computer is quicker and doesn't have a million viruses on it, making it easier for me to update... and I think a little break might have done me good. Bad news is.... I forgot what I was planning! Plus I had to wait for the chance to go out and by CDs to burn the chapter on because the new computer doesn't have a floppy disc inserter thing. So I have to save to CDs in order to transfer the documents. Yup. That's the line of it. I forgot. You think I'm smart enough to keep notes or something. But nope. Oh well. If I forgot what I was planning it obviously wasn't good. So now I'll just have to wing this chapter and hope for the best heeheehee.

Disclaimer-

Sephiroth- (Currently strangling Zack) How the hell could you forget what you were doing! This is suppose to be important!

(Cries) I'm sorry! Really I am!

Sephiroth- No you aren't! But you will be!

Aren't you suppose to be killing Vincent at the moment?

Sephiroth- (Blinks a bit in thought.) ...... (Turns to Malice) Here. (Hands Zack to Malice and unsheathes his Masamune before running off.)

Malice- (Smirks evilly) Now it's my turn!

(Whimpers)

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The Secrets We Hold

'Why do I have this linger?

My reasons are unknown.

Leave me, triumph envy.

Suck marrow from my bones.

But don't leave me here, I'm not ready to die.

Something is wrong, I'm ready to know.'

(Silver By Red 13)

Vincent stands speechless, his crimson orbs wide with shock as he stares at the Masamune's blade clutched in his claw. If he hadn't heard the blade scraping against the sheath at the last moment, he probably wouldn't of been able to catch the attack in time. Slowly, Vincent moves his gaze from the blade to Sephiroth's face, becoming a bit unnerved at the expression across Sephiroth's face. The emotionless mask pasted across the cold swordsman's face rivaled his own, it's the same expression Sephiroth had when the group battled him to free Holy.

After the initial shock of the attack wore off, Vincent's brows furrow in confusion. Has Sephiroth turned against the group? Why now? Has he been planning to from the beginning? The questions continue to race through the Ex- Turk's head, unaware of the boot speeding towards him until he felt the impact of Sephiroth's kick, causing the dark gunslinger to loose his grasp on the Masamune and fall back.

"Sephiroth! What the hell ya doin'!?" Daisuke shouts a bit shocked that Sephiroth would just suddenly turn against them. She quickly unsheathes her blades, ready to defend herself against the swordsman. Sephiroth paid her no heed, he simply walked passed her, advancing on Vincent in cool confident strides.

Vincent sits himself up in the snow, and tilts his head to the side as he continues to stare confused at Sephiroth. 'Is he only after me?' He thinks to himself as Sephiroth stops in front of him, his sword raised over his head, ready to deal the deathblow. Vincent quickly rolls to the side as the Masamune crashes down. In an instant, Vincent's up on his feet. He takes a couple of feet back to put a safe distance between Sephiroth and himself.

Daisuke watches the scene unfold, unsure how to proceed. Should she attack Sephiroth? Or wait until he attacks her? Tightening the grip on her swords, she takes a step forward, the snow making a soft crunching noise in the process. Sephiroth immediately turns toward the treasure hunter, the Masamune pointed towards her, "Stay out of this unless you wish to die." Sephiroth warns. Daisuke glances over to Vincent, receiving a silent nod from him, she steps back, staying out of the fight that's obviously not her concern. Sephiroth turns back towards Vincent, his gaze cold as the ice and snow around them. He points to Vincent with the tip of his sword, "Now you die Valentine."

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Rima watched silently as her savior walks towards the dieing fire, to replenish it's fuel, ignoring the fact that she's awake. Tossing the logs into the flames, the fire comes alive with new vigor. Rima's mouth clamps shut as she stares into the fire, trying to find something to say. "You saved me." She finally speaks up, keeping her voice just above a whisper, "Thank you, Cyrus."

There's no response to her gratitude, leaving Rima to believe that he either didn't hear her or chose to ignore her.. Slowly, Malice turns around, his face overshadowed, "Why do you call me Cyrus?" He asks, his hollow voice echoing off the walls of the cave.

Rima draws her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them, not answering the question. Seeing how she isn't going to answer his question, Malice turns away and begins heading towards the exit of the cave. "You... don't know?" Malice stops at Rima's voice, her tone unsure.

Malice glances over his shoulder towards Rima before turning completely around and head back towards the fire. "Know what? Who is Cyrus?"

Rima frowns as she stares into the fire, "Cyrus was my brother." Rima glances up at Malice to see him watching her, expecting her to continue. "I don't remember everything from my childhood, only my brother. He had a half-moon tattoo on his right hand." Rima watches Malice as he raises his right hand to stare at the same tattoo on the top of his hand. Rima half-smiles as she recalls the memory, "It was the symbol of our tribe."

Malice's hand drops to his side, "I am not your brother." Rima frowns a bit, but doesn't say anything, she wasn't expecting him to actually believe her, well actually, she was, but it was more like wishful thinking. "Don't confuse me with such matters anymore."

"Is that why you saved me?" Rima asks a bit depressed, "Because you wanted to straighten things out?"

"No." Rima glances up, a light of hope shinning in her amber eyes, "I came to deliver a message to your group, I just happened to find you."

The light of hope quickly flickers out of Rima's eyes. Blinking a few times, she pushes her feeling aside, "What is it?"

"The last surviving Wutinease, or Yuffie as you call her, will soon have her mind torn from her, giving out a certain thing to the wrong person." Malice reaches into his navy green trench coat and pulls out a folded piece of paper. Tossing the paper to Rima, he turns around, "If you wish to save her, have your group go to those coordinates. She's being held there." Malice begins walking away.

"Wait." Rima calls out. Malice stops, but doesn't turn around. Rima bites her bottom lip, not sure if she should ask her question. "If you're not Cyrus... then who are you? Or rather, what are you?"

Malice glances over his shoulder at her, than turns his gaze back ahead, as if debating whether to walk out or not. "The Ancients are dead, I'm their replacement."

"Ancients? Replacement?" Rima says in confusion.

"The last Ancient sacrificed herself to save the planet a few years ago. Her purpose was to keep the Ancients' line continuing, but she sacrificed herself. The Ancients were the planet's protectors. With no Ancients left, the planet is left vulnerable. Now no one can use the ultimate white materia 'Holy' in the event of a new threat arising. The threat is here, so the planet has brought me here to get rid of it. Once the threat is gone, I'm to prevent anything from ever happening again."

Rima lowers her brows in confusion at the last statement, "How are you going to prevent something from happening again?"

Slowly, a smirk crosses Malice's face at the question, causing a chill to travel down Rima's spine. "Only those with the strength to be a threat shall be exterminated. In other words, once the threat is destroyed, your group will be next."

Rima's eyes widen in surprise as she jolts to her feet, "But that's insane! They helped save the planet. They're trying to save it now!"

"Which is why they are not on the top of my priorities. I follow the planet's will, and it says to get rid of any threat by any means possible."

"I won't let you!" Rima shouts as she pulls out her sniper rifle, aiming it at Malice.

Malice stands in his spot, unmoving, "You can't stop me."

------

A chilling wind blows through the valley as the two warriors stare down one another. Neither one of them move, wanting to wait for the other to make the first move. Around them the snow continues to fall, leaving a thin white blanket of snow on them. One man, a swordsman, bent on his own personal revenge, the other, a lone gunslinger, trying his best to understand the situation.

Vincent dodged, as another attack is directed at him. Still he has not grabbed hold of his Death Penalty, opting to fight with his hand and claw, he doesn't want to kill Sephiroth, even if Sephiroth is trying to kill him. Vincent blocks the strike from the Masamune with his claw and jumps back a few feet, "Why do you wish to fight me?" Vincent asks.

Sephiroth stands in his spot glaring towards Vincent, "I do not wish to fight you, I wish for you to die!" With that said, Sephiroth lunges forward, his long sword leaving a trail in the snow as he swipes upward.

Vincent manages to get away with only a small scratch on his arm. As small as the injury is, it's still a small victory for Sephiroth, causing him to smirk even wider. Turning towards Vincent, Sephiroth stares at the Ex-Turk, his eyes filled with mirth at the excitement of battle, "I'll tear you apart piece by piece if I have to."

"What is it I did that would make you want to kill me?" Vincent asks, wanting to know.

Sephiroth's eyes narrow into thin slits, his presence seeming to darken, "Don't act innocent with me Valentine. I know what went on between you two."

"......."

"I was right outside of your door." Sephiroth can't help but give a half-smile, "I was going to break the door down and kill you right then and there. But I couldn't... at least not where everyone would see, and I didn't want to see Rima all over you."

"What?" Vincent's crimson eyes blink frantically, a bit confused.

Sephiroth scowls, "You heard me. Tell me Valentine, do you go after all the women who are taken? Or is Rima a special case? Maybe you've gone after all of them before I came. Or maybe not all of them yet." Sephiroth rubs his chin in mock thought, "Hmm... Let's see if I can guess who you've been after... that ninja brat?"

"......"

"Then there's Lockheart."

"......."

"Let's not forget the Ancient, I'm sure you had your eyes on her, before her demise."

"......."

Sephiroth raises his chin up as he gives a cold smirk, "Seems your type is those who are already taken. Perhaps that's why you were after my mother." Vincent's demeanor darkens, his bloody red orbs darken, as if a demon had suddenly taken him over. "It's all a sick game of yours." Sephiroth continues, completely unaware of Vincent's change, "You feel nothing for them. You never loved my mother, and she must of known it which is why she crawled to Hojo, just because----"

By the time Sephiroth even noticed Vincent was dashing towards him, it was too late to defend himself. He was sent flying backwards by the force of Vincent's fierce punch. The shearing pain on the left side of his face was the first thing he noticed, then the fact that he is no longer holding the Masamune. Then he finally noticed the firm grip Vincent's deadly claw has on his neck as the obviously infuriated man glares down at him with crimson orbs that seem to have a blazing flame trapped with them.

Despite the fact Vincent could snap his neck any moment, Sephiroth can't help but laugh, "Oh I hit a nerve did I?" His laughter dies down as his eyes darken once again, "Good, remember that feeling, it's the same way I feel." The snow underneath Sephiroth is shot away from him as a large black wing extracts from Sephiroth's shoulder. "Let's see how well you fair now Valentine." Sephiroth comments before throwing Vincent off of him with a quick shove. Getting to his feet, he flaps his huge wing once, slinging the snow off of it.

Daisuke stares, wide eyed, at the wing coming out of Sephiroth's back. Slowly she raises her right hand up, and smacks herself in the face, "Ow!" Daisuke rubs her sore cheek, "Nope, no Dreamin' Pretty Boy has a bloody wing comin' out of him. Now why wasn't I informed of this?"

Vincent takes an uncertain step back as a dark aura surrounds Sephiroth. The dark swordsman remains expressionless, "I'll get rid of you now." Vincent's brows furrow in thought, trying to think of where he's seen this before. Sephiroth had done the same thing once before, he only needs to remember when, and what he's doing exactly.

Vincent's eyes widen a bit as he remembers the attack that Sephiroth used to finish off Jenova, without even looking to see if his suspicions are correct. Vincent leaps to the side, just before a large meteor crashes to the ground, followed by several more. The meteors begins to circle around Sephiroth, melting the snow around him, all the while Vincent moves out of the meteors' paths.

The meteors stop and Vincent freezes in his spot, only his crimson orbs glancing around, waiting for them to start up again. Instead, one by one, the meteors begin to blow up, leaving small craters in their wake. Vincent pushes himself to his feet after being knocked down, glancing over to Sephiroth, he stares up into the large sphere of energy formed above his hands. Sephiroth can't help but smirk at Vincent, "You won't dodge this Valentine."

"Maybe not." Vincent replies just before he pulls the Death Penalty out from it's holster. Sephiroth's eyes widen in surprise, having not expected Vincent to use his gun. Wasting no time with aiming, Vincent raising the gun up and fires a single shot at Sephiroth. The large sphere of energy Sephiroth had formed disappears as Sephiroth falls down on his back, his blood coloring the ground.

------

Malice stood there unmoving as he stares blankly at the end of Rima's rifle. Slowly, Malice raises his right hand up and rests the palm of his hand on the barrel of the gun, "Go ahead and shoot." Malice gives a sly smirk, "You know it doesn't have an affect on me. No weapon made by man can harm me."

Rima grinds her teeth in frustration, knowing the truth to his words. Nevertheless, she can't just let him walk away. Turning her head to the side and closing her eyes, Rima pulls the trigger. The shot echoes throughout the dimly lit cave. Hearing no reaction, Rima slowly opens her eyes, only to see Malice still standing in front of her, his hand still held up. A small glowing hole shines in the center of Malice's palm. The mystical green glow slowly disappears leaving no traces of the gunshot in Malice's palm.

Malice's hand drops to his side, "Satisfied?" Malice's voice cuts through the silence. Rima drops the rifle to the cold rocky ground and quickly pulls out two daggers, holding them up defensively. Malice raises his head up a bit, tilting his head to the side, a ghost of a smirk appears across his face.

Rima gets the wind knocked out of her as she collides with the wall behind her from the force of Malice's blow. She lifts her head up to see Malice standing in the center of the cave, his ghostly white eyes peering down at her, "You can't stop me." Malice repeats what he said from before. Turning around, he begins heading out of the cave, only to stop at the sound of Rima's haunting laughter.

A strong gust of wind blows into the cave, causing the fire to die and leave everything in darkness. The screeching of hundreds of bats fill the cave as they begin to fall from the ceiling and swarm around the cave. Malice stands in his spot, letting the bats fly around him to exit the cave. "You escaped me last time." Rima's chilling voice sleeks its way through the screeching of the bats, "I won't let you get away this time."

Malice glances over his shoulder knowing, before he even looks, what will be there. A pair of bloody red eyes gaze straight at him. "I hope you don't mind the fire.... the light hurts my eyes." Rima lets out a cackle that would frighten the most hideous of demons. As quick as a blink of an eye, Rima disappears into the darkness. Malice looks around the cave, to find any trace of the vampire. "Up here." Malice looks up to see a pair of crimson eyes looking down at him from the ceiling. As quickly as he saw them, they were gone. "No weapon made by man can hurt you." The vampire states, "Then I'll just have to fight you by some other means."

------

Soft steps crunch on the frozen grass. The snow falling slowly begins to replace the melted snow from before. The victor of the battle stops above the defeated, his large deadly gun hovering above the fallen. The once proud warrior withers in pain and disgrace, his pride broken along with his frozen heart. The stream of life slowly slips out of his wounded shoulder, covering the ground underneath him with the same crimson color of the winner's cloak.

Vincent continued to stand towering above Sephiroth, the Death Penalty never leaving its target's head, for fear that the opponent will lash out again if given the opportunity. Although his stance appears that of one who's furious, with his hand clenched tightly on the handle of the Death Penalty while his golden claw is clenched into a tight fist, Vincent's eyes appear empty, void of any emotion as the mask he's famous for hides any hint of emotion. "Now you'll explain why your trying to kill me." Vincent orders, his usual calm voice taking a low dangerous tone.

Sephiroth continues to clutch the wound in his shoulder with his good hand, the same scowl across his face. Painfully, he forces himself up into a sitting position, wincing a bit while doing so. "Quite playing innocent Valentine." Sephiroth snaps, his anger still present, "I know what happened between the two of you last night. I could hear it! And I bet everyone else in the place could hear it! I was right outside your door."

Vincent blinks a few times, his hand dropping to his side, "You were the one outside my room." Vincent stated rather than questioned. Sephiroth silence was the only confirmation Vincent needed. "And you heard everything?" Vincent asks.

"Hey! Um... If y'all are done, do ya think we could uh..." Daisuke begins as she heads towards the two men. She stops in her tracks as both men turn and glare at her, both set of eyes clearly telling her to back off. Holding up her hands in defense, Daisuke begins taking several steps back, "Whoa... okay... I see how it is... right... I'll be right here when y'all are done doin' what ever it is y'all are doin'"

Sephiroth turns back to Vincent, now that they will be left alone, without any curious ears, "You bet I heard everything."

Vincent's eyes drops shamefully to the ground, "I'm truly sorry for your loss."

Sephiorth scuffs, "I bet you are." His voice drips with sarcasm.

Vincent shakes his head, holstering the Death Penalty at his side, "Hojo has done many horrible things."

Sephiroth's brows furrow in anger and annoyance, "What the hell does he have to do with you screwing around with Rima!?"

Vincent raises a surprised eyebrow at the question, his face a mask of confusion. "Excuse me?" Vincent asks, thinking he heard wrong. "I don't think you understand what's going on."

"Oh really? Care to explain the noises coming from the bed in your room?" Sephiroth asks. Vincent's gaze lowers to the ground as he scratches the bridge of his nose, an old habit of his that he does when he's embarrassed or uncomfortable, he nearly had it broken too.

------

Vincent stumbles back as Rima pushes him back into the room, the door closing behind her. Vincent's eyes widen slightly as he begins to fall backwards onto his bed, Rima falling on top of him. Giggling fills the room, and Vincent soon realizes it's Rima. Quickly, he shoves the woman off of him, on to the bed. "Wow.." Rima begins, her voice filled with laughter, "You sure got the good cut of the deal here." Rima says as she stands up on the bed, "The rest of the beds, as I recall, are a bit..." She pauses a bit, seemingly forgetting what she was saying, "Springy.. yea.. springy! Yours is soft and yet bouncy." She proves her point as she begins jumping on the bed, the springs creaking in protest.

Vincent quickly jumps off the bed and turns back around to look up at the bouncing woman, "Please stop, you're going to wake the others." Vincent asks politely.

"Good!" Rima states, "If I can't sleep then no one sleeps!" She says, never losing a bounce.

Vincent closes his eyes and rubs his temples, fighting the urge to just yank her off of the bed. He hears a creak in a floorboard near his door. Turning around quickly, pulling out the Death Penalty at the same time, he stares at his door. His eyes gaze down to the crack of the door where the light in the hallway snakes in. He begins to quietly make his way to the door, noticing a shadow in the light. Before he gets there however, the person leaves, perhaps sensing Vincent's presence. Vincent quickly holsters the Death Penalty, but keeps his eyes on the door, as he listens for any sort of noise in the silence.

'Silence?' He thinks as he notices the sounds of Rima's bouncing have desist. Turning around, Vincent raises his brows as he notices Rima sitting at the edge of the bed, staring blankly ahead, seemingly lost in thought. Vincent shakes his head before leaning back against the door and crossing his arms.

"Memories aren't cracked up to what they're suppose to be." Rima suddenly says, the laughter in her voice now gone, replaced by sorrow. Vincent makes no reply as he continues to stare at her in the dark room; watching her as she leans her head on her palm. "I've been wanting my memories for so long, but nothing good comes from the ones I remember... It only torments me more. I thought I'd be happy once I remembered who I am." Rima rubs her eyes with her knuckles, "But look at me... I'm the most miserable person alive right now."

Vincent let's out a tired breath, how much he wishes that he'd never have to hear another's problems will never be known by anyone but himself. He tires from all the complaints his companions make about their lives. He has problems of his own, and yet he just let them be, choosing not to worry about them, can't anyone else do the same? "Drinking yourself to oblivion doesn't solve your problems." Vincent states, not knowing what else to say. Honestly, what else could he say? 'I'm sorry for your troubles, I hope you don't take them too hard?'

"You think I don't know that?" Rima practically hisses at Vincent. "I drink because I want to, it's my only time of peace. I don't need a lecture from anyone on how to live my damn life! You best remember that."

"Sounds to me that you are asking for help." Vincent replies emotionlessly, "Why else would you speak about such things to anyone?"

Rima snaps her head up, her eyes sending a menacing glare at the dark gunslinger. Pushing herself off the bed, she swiftly strides over to Vincent and grabs fistfuls of the collar of his cloak, "Listen and listen good you bastard, I don't need help from anyone! I just wanted to talk to someone, get things off my chest, got it?"

Vincent turns his head to the side, finding the far wall entertaining for a moment, "Why talk to me?"

"Because...." Rima pauses a moment, trying to collect her thoughts some before continuing, "Because you already know about one of them, and no one else needs to know."

"I'm not the one you should be speaking to." Vincent replies softly, "Sephiroth is."

"He doesn't need to know anything that can't be changed." Rima releases her hold on Vincent. She lets out a sigh and hangs her head, "Know what? Forget about it." Slowly she reaches for the doorknob and opens the door. Before she can leave however, it's quickly closed. Rima blinks as she stares at the golden claw holding the door shut. Following the length of the arm with her eyes, she stares up at Vincent.

Vincent keeps his eyes closed, deep in thought, wondering why he suddenly stopped her from leaving. Shaking his head, clearing all thoughts from his head, he opens his crimson eyes and looks over to Rima, "I apologize for my behavior. I'm not in the best of moods. The traveling is beginning to take its toll on me. If you wish, I will listen."

Vincent removes his claw from the door, telling her that she can leave if she wants to. Rima seriously thought about just leaving, after all, why should she speak to him when he didn't want to listen in the first place. 'Damn men can never make up their minds.' Rima thinks annoyed. She lets out a deep breath, trying to calm down her annoyance. Turning on her heel, she makes her way back to the bed for some place to sit.

Vincent leans back against the wall again, crossing his arms over his chest as he watches Rima stare down at her hands in her lap. Vincent is probably one of the most patient people you could meet, however, knowing that the upcoming conversation is one that he wishes not to have, he just wants to get it over with, "What is it that you wanted to speak to me about?" Vincent asks, deciding to get her started.

"How do you think..." Rima pauses a moment, thinking of her choice of words wisely, "How do you think Sephiroth would react if he found out I lost his child before he even knew about it?"

"I can't answer that." Rima frowns a bit at the answer, "However, you have to remember. You didn't lose the child, it was taken from you.... by Hojo." Vincent feels the familiar wave of anger grow in him whenever Hojo's name is brought up in a conversation. Some many years have passed and he still can't stand talking about the man.

------

Vincent stood there silently as he stares down at Sephiroth. Watching as the man tries to regain himself from his obvious shock. Sephiroth blinks a few times, finally getting out of his trance, "She was.... pregnant? With my child?" Vincent doesn't reply, but Sephiroth doesn't need one, the look in Vincent's eyes tell him all he needs to know. 'So I was wrong...'

'He's lying... Why believe him?'

Sephiroth's brows furrow in frustration as a headache begins to make itself noticed, "Why should I believe you Valentine? How do I know if you're lying?"

Vincent crosses his arms over his chest, his eyes filling with anger, obviously getting annoyed with the swordsman, "Because I'm the one here who actually knows what happened that night. Instead of accusing me of lying, why don't you wait to question Rima? Then you can draw out your own conclusions."

'Don't listen to him. He's trying to save himself. Get the Masamune and get rid of him.'

'.....'

Sephiroth blinks a bit surprised as he feels the wound in his shoulder close up. He looks up at Vincent as he watching him put a Cure materia back in one of the Death Penalty's slots. Turning away from Sephiroth, Vincent heads over to the discarded Masamune, picking it up, he tosses it over to Sephiroth, "We can finish this discussion when we find the others. We've wasted enough time already." Vincent states.

Sephiroth pushes himself up to his feet, and sheathes the Masamune. Nodding his head once, the two continue on their way. "HE-----Y! Wait for me ya idiots!" Daisuke shouts before racing after them. She quickly grabs Vincent's cloak and wraps herself up again, trying to get any sort of warmth available, "We need to get out of this weather."

Vincent shakes his head in annoyance before reaching up to the buckles of his cloak and unclasping them, letting Daisuke fall face first in the snow with the sudden looseness of the cloak. "Oof!" Daisuke wraps herself up tightly in a bundle using Vincent's discarded cloak. She blinks in surprise as she stares at his retreating form, realizing that he did, in fact, take his cloak off. Not wanting to miss the chance to see what he's been hiding for so long, she quickly catches up with Sephiroth and Vincent, opting to walk by Vincent's side. Trying to make it look like she wasn't starring, she glancing out the corner of her eyes to see Vincent's face.

"If it causes you to stare, I can take the cloak back." Vincent says, clearly annoyed.

"How'd- I mean... I wasn't!" Daisuke exclaims, snapping her gaze straight forward. Honestly, she didn't mean to stare, she didn't even realize she was. The treasure hunter can't help but let her eyes wander back over to the man next to him, with his cloak off, not only can she see his face, but she can actually make out his build somewhat, granted the somewhat loose long sleeved black shirt hides his muscles a bit, but not all of them. 'Wonder if he's cold.' As she glances back up to Vincent's face, she notices him starring right at her, his brows furrowed in annoyance. "I can't help it!" Daisuke immediately replies, trying to defend herself, "I didn't think there would be anyone in the group who would match up to Pretty Boy's looks!" Daisuke stops in her tracks as the sudden appearance of the Masamune's blade hovers in front of her nose. "Um.. I mean... ya pretty... but not as pretty as Pretty Boy." Daisuke says, giving a nervous laugh.

Sephiroth shakes his head, deciding not to even bother with Daisuke. Sheathing his sword, he continues on. Daisuke glances up to Vincent, "Geez... what's up with him? By the way... what were y'all fightin' bout anyway?"

"Nothing." Is Vincent's short reply. Although he told Sephiroth the discussion Rima and himself had last night, he had not told Sephiroth the whole story. And he wouldn't either, after all, he doesn't break promises he makes with others, no matter how small or big they may be. Vincent is still a bit unnerved at what he learned from Rima last night.

_"I found my brother." Vincent raises an eyebrow at the change of subject, but remains quiet. "He's alive." Rima keeps her gaze to the floor, not wanting to look at anything else at the moment._

Vincent's brows furrow in confusion. He recalls the conversation they had on the Highwind, when Chaos took control of him. He remembers how old Rima said she was. "Is he a vampire as well?" Vincent asks, thinking that's the only way he can be alive. Rima shakes her head silently. Vincent's head tilts to the head slightly, "How is it possible he is alive than?"

"I don't really know." Rima pulls her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them, "It took me awhile to figure out who he is, and when I did find out, I wished it wasn't true." Vincent remains silent, letting Rima continue with her story. "I figured it out while fighting him in Mythril Caves."

"Fought him?" Vincent questions.

"Everyone has fought him so far, and no one could beat him. Yuffie was there when he showed up, I told her to run, I stayed behind to fight against him so Yuffie could get away. That's when I found out, found out that he was my brother. Then he fled, I chased after him, out of the Mythril Caves."

'When Yuffie was taken.' Vincent thinks to himself. 'She chased him out of Mythril Caves...' Vincent remembers seeing Rima outside of Mythril Caves with Hojo and Dregon. Vincent eyes narrow a bit as he guesses who her brother is, "Dregon is your brother?"

"No..." Rima shakes her head, Vincent blinks a bit confused, that means the only other person could be Hojo, and he knows it can't be him. "My brother's name is Cyrus, although he doesn't seem to know it himself anymore." Rima notices the look of confusion flash through Vincent's eyes, obviously not familiar with the name. A small smile crosses Rima's lips, reasons unknown to her, "You know him better as, Malice."

Whether Vincent is shocked or not, is hard to tell. The only physical reaction he gave at the news is lowering his head ever so slightly, almost unnoticeably. "What do you plan on doing?"

At first, Rima doesn't reply, still a bit surprised that Vincent could be so calm after being told that the seemingly invincible Malice, is her brother. Than again, it doesn't really change much of anything, after all, Malice isn't the one they are after. Bowing her head a bit, Rima replies, "I don't know." Vincent gives a short nod of understanding, "But..." Rima trails off, "No one needs to know of this. I will deal with him the next time I see him." Rima gives him a threatening look, as if telling him not to say anything to the others.

Vincent nods his head, "I understand." Vincent shifts his gaze from Rima's gaze to the floor, only to glance back up to her, becoming uncomfortable with her starring. Vincent glances over to the side, trying to look anywhere except the amber depths of Rima's eyes. After a moment, Vincent glances back to Rima, finding her still staring at him, her lips set in a annoyed scowl. "What is it?" Vincent finally asks.

Rima growls and frustration before reaching out and grabbing the front of Vincent's cloak. Vincent's crimson eyes widen a bit startled as he's forced down. Making quick work of the buckles, Rima pulls off Vincent's cloak, confusing the gunman even more. "Do you know how annoying it is to talk to you with half your face covered!?" Rima explains, as she manages to take the cloak from him and throwing it onto the bed, "It's enough to guess what your thinking without you covering your expressions."

Vincent stands back up, shaking his head in moderate amusement. "No one else seems to say anything."

"That's probably because they think you'll pull out your gun on them if they take your damn cloak. So stop trying to hide in it. It doesn't do you any good."

Vincent crosses his arms over his chest, if only for the sudden coolness from not having the extra layer of clothing covering him, "It keeps unwanted company away." Vincent points out.

Rima shakes her head as she lets out a sigh. Grabbing the discarded cloak again, she places it on her lap and examines it. "What's with you and the color crimson anyway?"

Vincent arches and eyebrow at the question, "What about you and black?"

Rima can't help smirk at the question, "I look good in black." Vincent shakes his head disbelievingly. " But you didn't answer my question, is it your favorite color or what?"

Vincent lets out a tired breath and closes his eyes, "No. In fact, I despise the color."

------

Even with the strength of a vampire, as she is now, Rima can't seem to inflect a dent in Malice. He takes each of the blows as if they were nothing, and in turn, counters with his own, quick and powerful. Rima daggers, as sharp and deadly as they are, act as if they were dulled down to a flat point, never spilling an once of blood.

Rima stares down from the ceiling, safe from Malice's reach. Her crimson eyes glowing with her growing aggravation. With each attack she inflicts, Malice remains as strong as ever, while she tires as the fight proceeds. His life force seems limitless, how is she suppose to fight against that?

In the back of Rima's mind, she tries to remember something she heard, something that Yuffie once told her awhile back. What was it that she said? If she could just remember. It was the night they were at Wutai. Yuffie told them about the fight Cloud had with Malice. Rima closes her eyes as she tries to remember the ninja's words.

__

'Cloud's Blade Beam sliced right through Malice! He has the strangest blood! It's Mako!'

'Why does that attack cause a real injury while others don't?' Rima thinks to herself, 'What is so different than that attack?' Rima herself has witnessed the attack first hand when she fought against one of Cloud's clones in the forest near Junon. With a quick slash of his blade, Cloud can send a sharp blast of air, easily slicing through anything it touches. But why does it affect Malice? Just trying to think up of an answer for that question gets on Rima's nerves.

__

'Go ahead and shoot. You know it doesn't have an affect on me. No weapon made by man can harm me.'

Malice's words swarm through Rima's mind. They hold meaning, she knows it. Suddenly, an idea crosses her mind, causing a small smirk to cross her lips. She may have just found out the secret to Malice's strength. Everyone who has fought him in combat has lost. They would try to overpower Malice with their brute strength, swinging their swords and shooting their guns, repeatedly failing. Why didn't anyone think of this before?

Rima lets out a laugh, unable to control herself. She had just figured out what no one else could. Malice stands there, silently, unmoving, as Rima drops from the ceiling, landing on her feet. "The irony of it all!" Rima says, after getting control of herself. She glances up to Malice, unmoving and expressionless as ever. The small smirk on Rima's face widens, causing the tips of her fangs to peek through her lips. "I just figured you out."

Malice watches as Rima puts her daggers away. He tilts his head slightly to the side in confusion as the crimson glow of Rima's eyes slowly fade away, replacing it with her normal amber eyes. Thinking that Rima has given up, Malice turns around and begins walking away, only to have the back of his trench coat yanked on, "I never said you could leave." Rima says, her voice seeming more wicked than her vampire one, "Like I said, I just figured you out. I won't let you get away."

"You're a fool if you think there's anything to figure out." Malice speaks, his voice low and monotone.

The smirk across Rima's face doesn't seem to seize, "On the contrary. One's greatest weakness is its creator." Silence hangs in the atmosphere for a moment before Rima continues, "If what you claim is true, and the planet did in fact create you. Than the planet can kill you too."

"What you speak is nonsense. Stop wasting time. Go and save the last of the Wutianease line before it's too late."

"You think I'm that stupid. You wouldn't help us unless you were plotting something. You intend to wait in the shadows as we spring her loose, and when we are out in the open, you try to kill her once again. Am I right?" Rima's grip on his trench coat only tightens as she speaks.

Slowly, Malice glances over his shoulder, and stares at Rima, his expression void of emotion. Slowly however, the same wicked smirk he's known for spreads across his lips. "So? What of it?"

Rima closes her eyes and bows her head down a bit as an amused smile graces her lips, "Well than...." She releases her hold on Malice and steps back a few feet, "I'll just kill you. You're not my brother, I know that now. You're just like all the rest of the monsters lurking on this planet. The only difference between you and them is that you look human." Slowly, Rima reaches into her trench coat, her hand closing on the object she desires, "Every monster has a weakness... "

Malice takes a hesitant step back as a bright green aura surrounds Rima, brightening up the cave. Rima outstretches her right hand, a small glowing sphere glowing in her hand, "Fire." Flames shoot out from the materia, soaring through the air in a fiery stream. Rima watches, as the fire explodes at it's mark. Soon the flames slowly diminishes, it's target gone from sight. Turning her gaze to the side, Rima spots Malice, off to the side of the cave. "So... there is something you're afraid of." Rima can only chuckle at the prospect, "I was right. Your creator is also your destroyer. Materia holds the power of the elementals of the planet. I may not be a magic user, but I don't think it'll take much to destroy you by the way you seemed to dodge such a weak spell." The magical green aura surrounds Rima once again, "I have you now."

Malice bows his head, lifting his right arm up. A spiral of flames travels up his arm, gathering up into his palm in a fireball. Rima's fire spell shoots out of the materia as Malice lets out his own fiery blast, the two spells clash into each other, causing a huge sphere of fire to form between them, growing in the size of a 'Fire 3' spell, only to blow up. Sending the two fighters crashing into the cave walls.

Rima sits up, shaking her head a bit to clear her head of the buzzing. 'That didn't work out well.' She thinks to herself. Rima puts her Fire materia back in her coat, deciding to try another one. Of course she doesn't have a wide variety of materia, opting to fight at the front line in battles. She only carries the basic set of materia. Puling out another one from trench coat and looks down at her palm to see what she picked. Glancing across the cave she notices Malice just starting to get to his feet, 'So I am right. His weakness is magic.' It explains why a Blade Beam affected Malice considering it's a sharp blast of wind caused by a quick slash of Cloud's sword.

The irony of it all is that she killed her brother with a magic spell, and here she is about to kill his look alike in the same way. It doesn't matter though, like Malice said, he's not her brother. With that thought drilled in her mind, her eyes narrow in a new wave of determination. Pushing herself up to her feet, she begins concentrating on the materia in her hand. "Quake!"

As Malice gets up to his feet, the ground underneath him begins to tremble, causing him to stumble about his feet. The floor underneath him caves in. Malice collapses to the ground, rocks and boulders rolling into the small quake spell caused. Malice manages to get himself out of the crater, only to have a quick blast of fire to explode at his back. Malice stumbles forward before falling to the ground, motionless.

Rima stands there, short of breath. Not one to use magic often she isn't used to the effects of casting magic, making her head throb and her body feeling exhausted. 'Is he dead?' Rima thinks to herself. Amber eyes blink a bit surprised in the darkness as they take in the sight of the glowing stream of mako coming out of the opponents back. Stepping hesitantly towards Malice, never taking her eyes off of him for an instant, Rima prepares for any tricks. Once she reaches him, Rima turns Malice on his back with a push of her foot. She draws her head back in surprise as she sees Malcie cough up more of his mako blood. 'I've beaten him.'

Rima stares down at Malice, as he stares back up at her with his empty white eyes, looking defeated. Slowly a smirk crosses Rima's face as she realizes that she has, in fact, defeated the seemingly invincible man. "I can't stop you eh?" Rima can't help but give a soft chuckle, "I guess I can thank you the information about Yuffie's whereabouts. Perhaps I do owe you, but if I let you go, you'll just come back for her. I'll get rid of you now." Keeping her gaze looked with Malice's, Rima slowly draws out the power of her Fire materia, "You'll die here Malice."

__

'Seria...'

Rima quickly steps away, her expression looking as if she just saw a ghost. "No! He's not Cyrus!" Rima shouts at herself as she shakes her head, trying to clear her head from any doubts.

__

'Seria...'

Rima drops the her materia on the ground as she covers her face with her hands. 'Stop! Stop! Stop! Where's this voice coming from!?' She can almost here her brother's voice in her memories. 'I can kill him now, let me be! Not now, not then, not ever again. I don't want these memories anymore!' Rima freezes in her spot, concentrating on getting herself under control. Why is she suddenly short of breath? Rima peeks between her fingers, looking over to the last place Malice was, only to see him gone, a glowing puddle of mako left in his wake. Rima grits her teeth in anger, furious at herself for letting him get away. 'Well... At least I know how to kill him. I'll get him next time.'

Well everyone, that's it! Oh I just remembered.. There was a comment... I forget who made it.... but they pointed out that Materia wouldn't be anything new in Rima's past because the Materia was around when the Ancients were about. I am aware of this. The way I look at it though is that this is in the years where people live off the land, technology pretty poor. Not everyone in the world would know about Materia and magic. What's an everyday thing to one culture is new to another. Kind of like in the game, not everyone knew who the Ancients were, or about the Promised Land. And when Cloud is telling his story there's apart where he asks Sephiroth why they can use magic in battle when they equip materia. So even then not everyone understands materia. Well anyways, I'm back everyone! I hoped you liked this chapter... longest one yet lol. Well and review and let me know what you think! TTNC!


	3. Change Of Plans

Howdy Y'all! Miss me? Come on... I know you did. Okay... you missed the fic more.. understandable. I'm not even going to waste everyone's time for not updating this in awhile. So let's get straight to the point.

Disclaimer- I do not own Final Fantasy 7

__

Change Of Plans

Sephiroth slams the door to the cabin open, ignoring the strange looks from the rest of the group. Behind Sephiorth, Vincent and Daisuke enter, the treasure hunter looking more than less like an icicle. Sephiroth's eyes scan the cabin, Reno as usual is smoking a cigarette from his spot leaning on the wall. Tifa is sitting on the floor in front of the door to the other room while Red XIII stands up from the middle of the rug to greet them.

"I see you all made it." The fiery beast comments before sitting down in front of them as he takes in their condition. "The owner was not here when we arrived. Cloud is in the other room." He says, notifying them as to where their missing leader is.

"Finally, warmth!" Daisuke exclaims as she untangles herself from out of Vincent's cloak to run over to the fireplace.

Sephiroth glances around once more noticing that everyone is not accounted for, "Where's Rima?" Sephiroth asks, keeping his voice void of emotion.

Red XIII tilts his head to the side questioningly, "She's... not with you?"

Emerald eyes narrow a bit in annoyance, "If she was, would I be asking?" Red XIII keeps his mouth shut as Sephiroth walks over to the farthest wall to lean against, trying to keep as far away from everyone as possible.

Vincent stares at Sephiroth for a moment before glancing down at the fiery beast, noticing his questioning look, "Some things have... come up." Vincent exclaims quickly, hoping the furious swordsman doesn't hear him. Red XIII nods his head once, deciding it's best not to ask. "When do we leave?" Vincent changes the subject.

Red XIII shakes his head, "I don't know. As soon as Cloud comes out I assume."

"What is he doing?"

Red XIII glances over his shoulder to stare at the door Tifa is sitting in front of, "He's... thinking."

------

'Yuffie.... are you okay?' The blonde swordsman releases a tired breath from his spot on the bed. Cloud just stares down at his reflection coming off of his sword. 'How are we suppose to find anything in this place?' Cloud thinks dejectedly. He doesn't even know how to begin searching for anything in such a wide area. With the maze of caves and all the snow, it seems impossible to find anything. Yet, Cloud knows if he doesn't find the last part of the talisman before Dregon does, than he loses the only hope he has to getting Yuffie back.

Cloud stands up and heads over to the window to stare outside at the seemingly endless mountain chain. He's been to this area many times, he knows all the cave paths that lead to the North Crater. Yet, he doesn't recall ever seeing anything resembling anything like a part of a talisman while traveling through the caves or the surrounding area. Cloud rests his head on the cold window as he stares through the glass, 'Where... where is it. Where do I look? I need help. Someone... give me the answer I need to save Yuffie.'

Cloud draws back from the window and looks around frantically as the cabin begins to shake. "What the-!" Cloud looks back out the window as a helicopter flies over the cabin. "It's Dregon!" Cloud shouts as he slashes his sword at the window before leaping out. The helicopter circles around the cabin as Cloud stands out in the middle of the open, the rest of the group begins filtering out of the cabin, running to Cloud's side.

The helicopter flies over them. The door of the helicopter opens to reveal Dregon in all his glory, "Mr. Strife, what a pleasure to see you in these parts." He calls out over the howling of the propellers.

"Where's Yuffie!" Cloud demands.

Dregon places a finger on his chin as he lifts his head up a bit, "Hmm... I'm afraid I can't reveal that information. I'll let you know that she's still alive, for now anyway."

"Please! Why are you doing this? What do you plan on accomplishing?" Tifa calls out.

Dregon taps his nose and grins, as if saying That's-A-Surprise. Vincent pulls out his death penalty and fires a single shot, the bullet whizzes through the air but it's stopped by Dregon's seemingly invisible shield. Dregon can only smirk down at the gunman, "Mr. Valentine, have you forgotten about my powers so quickly?" Dregon shakes his head in disbelief, "You can harm me with your petty bullets. I wonder however, have you reconsidered about giving me Chaos?"

The group turns to Vincent a bit confused by the question. Vincent ignores their stares, keeping his fiery glare trained on Dregon, "The demon chooses where it stays. He's not mine to give away."

Dregon laughs at the reply, he shakes his head, waving his hand out in front of him as he laughs, "Please! The demon having a conscious of it's own! That's ridiculous! All it is, is a tool for someone to use when in battle. It's does as the master commands."

Deep in his mind, Vincent can feel the demon's anger, telling him that he's offended by Dregon's words. Dregon gets control of his laughter after taking a deep breath, "No matter, the strength of that demon is pale in comparison of what I'll have control of soon enough. Perhaps this will interest you Valentine. Hojo has a special gift just for you."

"I'm not interested in any gift from him." Vincent replies.

Dregon shakes his head, "You don't seem to understand, you don't have a choice. You'll know what it is sooner or later." Dregon glances around the group for a moment before continuing, "As much as I'd love to 'Play' with all of you, I'm afraid I have some business to take care of. A certain artifact is waiting for me to find it. But don't worry, I arranged something just for all of you." The group watches as Dregon glances inside the helicopter, noticing that he's speaking with someone, but they can't make out the words.

Dregon steps away from the open hatch and someone else takes his place. This man, easily standing six feet tall; with muscles that look as strong as an ox's, stares down at the group with his ocean blue eyes. His red bandanna tied around his forehead keeps his light brown hair out of his face. And yet despite the fact he's obviously another one of Dregon's men, he sports the group with a friendly smile. Without a word, the man leaps out of the helicopter and lands onto the snow covered ground below. The man dusts snow off his brown leather pants and straightens out his black shirt and blue vest before glancing back up to Dregon as he reappears at the door, "I don't care what happens to you as long as you prevent these people from getting passed you, understand?" The man nods his head once in reply.

Dregon shuts the hatch and the helicopter begins flying towards the North Crater. From his spot in the group, Reno snorts in disgust, "Well I can see that asshole takes good care of his men."

The man turns back towards the group, sporting them another smile, "Yes, that's to be expected from someone like him. However, an order is an order." The man crosses his arms and tilts his head to the side as he studies the group, "However, I'm afraid the odds are against me... eight against one, hardly a fair fight."

Cloud holds out his sword, posed for attack, not sure what to think of the man, "If the odds aren't to your liking than why don't you just leave and let us pass?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that however..." He glances around the group a bit more, "I am willing to let four of you pass while the other three stay and fight." He offers politely.

Cloud raises an eyebrow at the man, something seems strange to him. The man seems too... nice to be one of Dregon's men. It only makes Cloud suspicious. However, he doesn't really have the time to think about it. The man is letting four of them pass without a fight, and Cloud knows they need to get to the cliff as quickly as possible, even if it's just a few of them. Turning around to face the group, Cloud shrugs his shoulders at the group, "Well... I guess we can split up here. I'll be going on ahead. Red, I need you with me, you can track down Dregon." Red XIII nods his head in understanding. Cloud scratches the back of his head, "Um... Who'll stay here?"

Vincent lifts his head up, "I'll continue on with you."

Sephiroth glances over at Vincent briefly as the gunman heads over toward Cloud's side. _'Valentine is trying to get away from you. He's going to try and get the moron on his side, so they can both go up against you. You should follow to keep an eye on him.'_ Sephiroth pushes the thought back were it came from.

Tifa glances around the group waiting for someone else to say something, "I guess I'll go with you guys too." Tifa turns to the four remaining people, "You guys be careful, this guy could just be trying to split us up."

Daisuke blinks stupidly for a moment, "Uh... No offense or anythin', But I think we all know he's tryin' to do that.. After all he said four of us could go on." Daisuke can't help but roll her eyes as she explains this. Sometimes she wonders if she's the only one with some intelligence in the group.

"If you want to stand a chance to getting to Dregon, I advise you to make haste." The strange man insists.

Cloud gives the group a short nod before running off, quickly being followed by Red XIII, Vincent, and Tifa.

The man gives them a short wave of farewell before turning to the remainder of the group, his smile never disappearing from his face, "Well, I like these odds much better, three against one. It'll make the fight much interesting, don't you agree?"

Reno leans over towards Daisuke a bit, keeping his eyes trained on the man, "This guy is really starting to freak me out with his manners. I mean shit, what's up with him?"

Daisuke shrugs her shoulders, "I dunno, but what I do know is that this guy is going to get the shit kicked out of by Pretty Boy. He doesn't stand a chance."

The man shakes his head, "Please, please. I have a name miss. I'd preferred to be called Lagos. Time for me to strike." He announces as he rushes at the group. He charges straight towards Sephiroth, the cold-hearted swordsman doesn't make a move to get out of way. Lagos draws a fist back as he gets closer to Sephiroth.

Sephiroth narrows his eyes slightly as Lagos charges at him, obviously thinking he can beat him with just his bare hands. As Lagos gets into reach, Sephiroth spins on his left foot and crashes his right heel into Lagos's face. Reno and Daisuke both wince, not even wanting to try and think of how much that had to hurt. Lagos slides across the snow on his back. "You're sadly mistaken if you think you stand a chance against me without any kind of weapon." Sephiroth comments coolly.

Lagos wipes his mouth with his hand and looks down at it to see the blood. He begins chuckling to himself as he lifts himself to his feet, "Yes... Hojo thought you'd say that." Lagos closes his eyes for a moment and when he reopens them, his whole demeanor seems to change. His lips curl up into a wicked smirk and his eyes seem to hold an insane gleam to them. "Which is what the experiments were for." Before anyone can question him on what he means, Lagos rips his shirt off to reveal three green orbs imbedded into his body, each having wires attached to one another. Lagos takes in a large breath he gives a grunt of pain as his face becomes paler. The veins in his neck bulge and frost begins to appear in his hair. His lips turn a blue tint, as his body seems to freeze in the weather. The green orbs imbedded in Lagos's chest begin to glow.

Lagos claps his hands together. A frosty mist circles his hands, "Ha!" A large sword suddenly appears in Lagos's hands, made entirely out of ice, "Now each and every one of you are going to die."

"Think again." Lagos turns around at the sound of Sephiroth's voice. The sound of breaking bones and ripping flesh is carried off with the wind. Lagos blinks, not sure as to what has just happened. Starring into Sephiroth's eyes, he can see the satisfied gleam within them. Ripping his gaze from Sephiroth's, he stares down at the Masamune that's thrust through his chest. That's when he become aware of the pain, and the sudden taste of blood in his mouth. Lagos coughs, spitting blood onto the white snow. Sephiroth slowly pulls the Masamune out of the man's chest, letting him fall to the ground, "That's what happens when you take so much time to get your weapon, your opponent sneaks up on you."

__

'Didn't it feel so good to kill again? If it feels this good to kill this moron, think how much of a thrill it would be to kill a certain ex-Turk.'

'........' Sephiroth sheathes his Masamune and begins heading towards the entrance of the caves, Daisuke and Reno following after a moment's hesitation.

------

'Where? Where? Where?' Cloud keeps asking himself as Tifa, Vincent, and himself follow Red XIII's lead. The guardian of Comos Canyon seems to be having trouble of catching a scent of Dregon. He hasn't been able to find any trace of him yet. Cloud figured that this could mean three things: Dregon isn't in these parts of the caves; he hasn't entered the caves yet, or the caves aren't the place where the last piece of the talisman is hiding.

The group stops as Red XIII sits on his hunches and turns around to face them. Tifa is first to break the silence, "What's wrong Red?"

The beast wags his fiery tail from side to side, as he seems to be thinking to himself, "We have an addition to the party." He announces. Before anyone can question him, Rima drops down to the ground ahead of them, and stands up, casually dusting herself off.

"Rima!" Tifa explains, surprised, and relieved that they've found their missing party member, "Where've you been? Are you alright."

"I think we should leave." Rima says suddenly.

"What? We can't!" Cloud objects, "Dregon is here somewhere, we need to find the last piece of the talisman."

"We won't find that thing here. It will take awhile for Dregon to find it as well." Rima replies.

Cloud crosses his arms, his brow furrow in thought, "So what are you suggesting?"

Rima quietly reaches into her trench coat and pulls out a folded piece of paper. Walking over to the group, she hands the paper to Cloud, "I'm suggesting we go save Yuffie, before Dregon makes it back to his base."

Cloud blinks a bit surprise before unfolding the piece of paper. He reads the description out loud, "Where the blood of the planet is plentiful." Cloud raises an eyebrow and scratches the back of his head, "Um... Somewhere there's a lot of Lifestream, maybe?"

"Mideel." Vincent suddenly answers, his monotone answer bouncing off the cave walls.

"Mideel?" Tifa repeats uncertain, "Why would Dregon set base there?"

"It's not a place where we'd expect. Mideel was destroyed when the Lifestream burst through the surface a few years ago." Red XIII says, remembering the time when Cloud had Mako poisoning and him and Tifa had fallen into the Lifestream.

"Moving in while Dregon is gone would be the best move." Vincent says, figuring out what Rima wants to do, "Attack while the leader is gone. We will catch them by surprise. Depending on how well the base is guarded, we may be able to get in and save Yuffie before Dregon makes it back."

"Doesn't look like you're getting much done Strife." The group turns towards Reno as the Turk, Sephiroth and Daisuke come up from behind. "Sephiroth took care of that loony back there, guy was more weak then we expected."

Cloud runs a hand through his blonde looks as he thinks about what to do. Sephiroth glances over to Rima, noticing her. Sephiroth keeps his face neutral as his shifts his gaze towards Vincent, looking the ex-Turk starring at Rima. The woman in question glances over to Vincent and the gunman nods his head towards Sephiroth, as if telling her something. Something Sephiroth doesn't no. Rima just shakes her head.

__

'See? He's already trying to get them on his side. Think about how satisfying it would feel to kill him. Tee! Hee! Hee!' Sephiroth's brows furrow in annoyance,_ 'If he isn't taken care of soon, he'll have them all against you. He's already stolen Rima from you, he made up the story to protect himself from you.'_ Sephiroth grinds his teeth together, _'You don't need any of these fools to take care of Dregon, you can do it yourself. Just imagine their screams as you kill them all.'_

'Leave me be.'

__

'The screams...'

'Silence.'

__

'The blood...'

'.........'

__

'Tee! Hee! Hee!'

"QUIET!" Sephiroth shouts out loud. Everyone turns to stare at the swordsman in question. Sephiroth closes his eyes for a moment, trying to recollect himself as he ignores the feel of everyone's gaze on him. Once he calms himself down, he looks over to Cloud, "What are we doing standing around?" He asks, partially to make everyone forget his outburst, and partially because he's growing tired of standing around.

"Um..." Cloud stalls to come up for an answer while at the same time wondering what Sephiroth's outburst is about, "We found out where Dregon's base is. We can forget this plan and storm into his base and save Yuffie, while he's searching for the last part of the talisman. Or... we can continue searching and take Dregon out now."

Reno rolls his eyes, "I don't really care how you got the location of the base, that's not really the problem. Just take a vote on what the damn group wants to do. I personally couldn't care less about the brat, I say we kill this bastard now."

Cloud raises an eyebrow at Reno, after a moment's contemplation he shrugs his shoulders, "Alright, we'll do what Reno suggests. We'll vote. Kill Dregon now, or save Yuffie first. So far it's one to one since I'd rather save Yuffie first."

"I would prefer to save Yuffie first but Dregon is too dangerous to give him the chance to get what he wants. Going after him first would be the wisest move." Red XIII gives his input.

"Dregon should die now." Sephiroth states, giving his vote.

"I say we save Yuffie!" Tifa announces, raising a fist into the air.

"I dun care." Daisuke says.

Cloud nods his head and glances between Vincent and Rima, "Vincent? Rima?"

Rima crosses her arms, "You already know my vote."

"Alright... It's four to four then." Cloud says before turning his gaze towards Vincent, "Well Vincent, it's up to you."

Vincent lets out a quiet breath and closes his eyes in thought, 'Well Chaos, what's your opinion on the matter.'

The demon in question shifts in the gunslinger's mind, making it's presence known, _'Getting the girl or the talisman would keep us safe. Either or, it doesn't make a difference as long as you and your friends get one or the other before Dregon gets what he's after.'_

Vincent nods his head once as he comes to a decision, "We go save Yuffie."

Reno curses in annoyance, "That means I came here all for nothing. What a waste of time. Now I'm going to have climb all the way back up that damn mountain in the freezing cold."

"Not exactly..." Cloud announces as he grabs his PHS, "I can get the Highwind to come pick us up." He explains.

Reno stands there dumbfounded, his thoughts similar to everyone else's 'Why didn't he have them drop us off here in the first place?' Followed closely by, 'Dumbass.'

Oh my god!!! I finally finished this chapter! Yes! I've been working on it for exactly... a month and a half! O.O This was the hardest chapter for me to write ever! Hence the reason it took me so long to update. I just wasn't satisfied with how it turns out. I'm still not. I hate this chapter! It seems too... dull I think... No matter, the next chapters will be filled with a lot of action and lots of good Ol' GO----RE! That's right everyone, we'll be having more gore real soon! So let me know you all are still reading this by reviewing. TTNC!

P.S- Believe it or not everyone, the ending is coming closer. At most there's ten chapters left. I'll drive to make them the best chapters yet! Expect lots of action, gore, drama, and your lovey dovey crap! Well... not lots of lovey dovey crap.. I have a limit for me, I'm not a real romantic writer lol. But the conclusion is drawing near. Believe me when I tell that I have not yet decided on the final pairings besides Cloud and Yuffie. I have the rest of the story basically planned out in my head, EXCEPT the other pairings... oh yea... and Reno and Elena lol. Forgot about them.


	4. Plan OF Attack

Disclaimer- I do not own Final Fantasy VII

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Plan Of Attack

Cloud stares down at the Island of Mideel, his eyes lost in thought. From the deck of the Highwind, everyone can see everything down below from an eagle's point of view. What lays below isn't a sight worth seeing. Cloud knew they were screwed before he even begins trying to figure out a solution. There's certainly no way to measure how screwed they really are. The whole plan of getting into Dregon's base was based off the hope it wouldn't be well guarded. How wrong they were...

Dregon seems to have an endless amount of people behind him, men with rifles patrol the grounds of Mideel. The military easily passing twenty men, that's not counting how many could be on the inside the base. Speaking of the base, Cloud wonders how Dregon was able to get it to built. The entrance to the facility is right on the shore of the lake of Lifestream. From his current view point, Cloud can see that the building goes down into the Lifestream, perhaps it travels to the ground and continues from there.

Cloud knew that his comrades are strong, but he doesn't think anybody can deal with an army on their own. They could try sneaking in, the surrounding forest around the entrance to the facility would give good coverage, but if they were spotted by anyone, they'd have a whole army breathing down their necks. It's not a risk he can take, if they were to fail than who would save Yuffie? He has to make a decision however, the rest of the group is gathered around, waiting for him to give the orders; but honestly, Cloud doesn't know what to do. If they charge forth, there's a good chance they'll fail with how well guarded the base is. Obviously, Dregon isn't stupid. Yet, if they don't charge in, then they lose any chance of stopping Dregon.

Cloud runs a hand through his blonde spikes before turning to face the group, "I- I don't know what to do." Cloud decides to tell them the truth, "We can't take all of those soldiers on our own. We'd need a small army to face their own. But we can't turn our back or else Dregon will be free to do as he pleases and Yuffie..." Cloud doesn't know what will happen to her, and honestly, he doesn't want to know. Cloud sighs and shakes his head, "I'm open for suggestions."

Silence falls upon the group, each trying to form their own plans for the situation. However, it seems they don't know what to do as much as Cloud. Again, the one to make a suggestion first is Rima, "Could we perhaps head for Midgar?"

"Midgar?" Cloud says, sounding rather confused at the suggestion, "Why would we go there? There's nothing there anymore."

Rima's upper lips curl up slightly into a smirk, "On the contrary. There's a small army hidden underground there. They've been trying to exterminate the zombies in the area. I believe they called themselves... The Liberators." Rima remembers after some thought.

Red XIII sits down on his hunches, accessing the situation. "Hmm... If they've been killing zombies, then they would have battle experience. Perhaps it would be wise to ask for their help."

Tifa gives a hopeful smile, "I'm sure they would want to help us fight Dregon. After all, once Dregon is gone than the world will be safe again."

Rima frowns at a sudden thought, "But... They may already be dead. They were all rookies when it came to combat. Midgar was the most populated with zombies. Zombies crawl around everywhere in Midgar."

Reno scuffs, growing a bit angry at the thought of Midgar being overrun by zombies, "Shit... you sure know about Midgar's situation." He comments, a little suspicious as to where she keeps getting information.

The smirk on Rima's face reappears as she turns to the Turk, "Yes well, I was feeding off of them up until I joined Yuffie and Kao."

Elena, who had stayed quiet for the most part gave a questioning look, "Who's Kao?"

Rima crosses her arms, noticing Cloud lowering his head in shake, no one else seemed to notice though, "He was one of the Liberators. His sister is at the base, so I know some of the people. Kao joined Yuffie when she started out searching for all of you. Kao had... died in a battle, at least that's what Yuffie had told me."

Elena mouths an 'Oh.' The group falls into silence again, Cloud finally breaks the silence, "Alright... We'll head for Midgar and get 'The Liberators' to help us."

The pilot of the airship comes up onto deck, "Your orders sir?"

Cloud lowers his head a bit, closing his eyes as he takes a deep breath. "Alright..." Cloud glances back up to the pilot, his eyes filled with determination, "Land Highwind outside the perimeter of Mideel."

"Wait a minute..." Daisuke cuts in, suddenly confused, " I thought ya said we was goin' to Midgar." She asks, and quite frankly, she isn't the only one confused.

Cloud nods his head, "I will be staying here. The rest of you are to get The Liberator's help."

"Cloud!" Tifa exclaims, "That would be suicide!"

Cloud gives a small smile, her concern appreciated, "Don't worry Tifa, I don't plan on charging the fort. While you guys are getting men together, I'll be surveying the area. And before you ask why I'm deciding to go alone, it's because if we're in a group, the chances of us being found would be greater."

Tifa bites her bottom lip, still not liking the idea. A hand falls on her left shoulder, causing her to turn around to look up at Vincent, "He's the leader of this group. He's made his call, we're to follow his orders." Tifa slowly nods her head.

Cloud gives Vincent an appreciative smile. The Highwind jolts to life as the pilot flies it towards the end of the island so they wouldn't be spotted by the guards when landing. "We're here sir!" The pilots voice is heard over the intercom.

Cloud stares at everyone in the group for a moment, "Alright everyone, this is where we split for a while." His expression becomes serious, "Don't think about coming back until you have reinforcements. Get as many men as you can. I'll survey the area and plan out a battle plan. This time tomorrow night, Dregon will no longer be a threat to the world."

Red XIII gives Cloud a look over, "Perhaps you should get prepared first. We don't know how long we'll be gone. You may need supplies."

Cloud scratches the back of his head, "Yeah.. I guess I should get some supplies. Alright.. I'm going to my room to get some things." He announces before leaving the deck.

-

Cloud gives a frustrated sigh for what seems like the hundredth time since he's been in his room, looking through the closet. Having separate rooms built on the Highwind has some advantages but Cloud just seems to lose things since he doesn't use it often. Throwing a few other empty boxes out of the closet, Cloud finally finds what he's looking for. Pulling the box out of the closet, he walks over to his bed and sits down and opens it up.

Cloud pulls out the clothes that are inside the box. It's the same as his mercenary uniform he's often wearing, except instead of the dark purple color, it's black. "I guess I have a use for this after all. Better to sneak around that base." He says to himself before getting changed. Once he's changed and has his Ultimate Weapon strapped to his back, Cloud goes back to his closet to get any other supplies he might have stored in it.

A soft knock sounds from Cloud's door making him turn his head towards it as it opens up. He's surprised to see Tifa walking in the room. "Hey Tifa, what's up?" He asks casually.

The brunette keeps her head bowed, her hands folded out in front of her, "Cloud... Can you promise me something?" She asks a bit hesitantly.

Cloud scratches the back of his head, a bit confused at the moment, "Um... sure."

"Promise me that you won't try and save Yuffie until we come back." Tifa glances up at Cloud hopefully, "I don't want you to get hurt from doing something stupid."

"Don't worry Tifa." Cloud tries to reassure her.

"I can't not worry Cloud!" Tifa snaps. She bites her bottom lips as it quivers a bit, "Cloud... I was in love with you at one time." She says suddenly. "I... there's always a part of me that always will love you... and Zack... I know that we can never be. You love Yuffie, everyone knows it. I'm okay with that. You'll always be my best friend. I don't want to come back to find out that you died from trying to be heroic." Tifa blinks back her tears, not wanting to shed any in front of Cloud.

"Tifa..."

The martial artist gives a small reassuring smile, "Now get out of here Cloud. The more time you waste, the less chance we have of getting everyone in time." Cloud gives a smile of his own before nodding and heading towards his door. In the back of Tifa's mind, she knew that she never got Cloud to give his promise.

Cloud closed the door behind him and stands in front of it for a moment. Out of the corner of his eye a red crimson figure catches his attention. Vincent is leaned against the wall next to his door, arms crossed over his chest and his head bowed with his eyes closed. Cloud turns fully to the gunslinger. Vincent lifts his head up, opening up his crimson eyes, "I know what you're planning."

"..."

"You must know that you can't get her out on your own." Vincent responds, his voice no louder than a whisper. Vincent closes his eyes, the corners of his lips curling up ever so slightly, "I understand why you're doing it however. You can't bring yourself to wait for help when she is so close."

Cloud gives Vincent a grin, making it seem like he hadn't been listening, "Take care of everyone, until we meet again Vincent." With that said, Cloud heads back up to the deck where the rest of the group is still waiting. He stops in the middle of the group and gives them all a grin, "Well, I guess we part ways from here. Try and get help quickly."

Red XIII nods his head, giving his friend a beastly grin, "Be careful. Be aware of your surroundings." Cloud nods his head.

Reno scuffs before tossing his lit cigarette over the side of the deck, "Don't be stupid."

Elena shakes her head, "That's his way of saying, 'Be careful.'" Cloud gives a short laugh.

Sephiroth crosses his arms, his face completely neutral, 'Idiot.'

The group watches as Cloud climbs down the rope latter to the ground. Daisuke leans over the edge and waves down at him, "Good luck chum!"

The Highwind gives a jolt of life as the engines come alive. Cloud keeps his gaze up at his friends as they stare down at him from the deck of the Highwind. The group can only pray for his safety as the Highwind slowly raises up into the air. The sound of banging feet causes the group to turn towards the stars of the deck. Suddenly, Vincent bursts out onto the deck and charges right towards them. They watch in stunned silence as he leaps off the deck of the Highwind.

Rima watches, mouth slightly parted as she watches Vincent fall towards the ground. His hands raised above his head as his crimson cloak flaps through the air above his head. After a moment she gives a smirk, 'At least one of these people decided to go through with what their thinking.'

Cloud also watched in stunned silence as he watches someone take a suicide dive off the deck of the Highwind. It only took him a second or two to realize who it is. The crimson cloak is a dead giveaway. Vincent lands in front of Cloud, and casually straightens up, dusting off his pants. Glancing over towards Cloud, noticing his questioning look, "I said you couldn't get her out on your own." A rare smirk crosses Vincent's lips, "But two have a better chance than one."

Cloud shakes his head as he gives a short laugh, "Despite the fact that this isn't what I had planned. I can't really say I'm upset that I'm not alone." Vincent nods once and glances up to the Highwind as it flies out of site, heading towards Midgar.


	5. Zombie Extermination

Malice- Prepare for the action... the violence... the bloodshed... the gore! MWAH HA HA HA HA!

Z.A.G. (Sigh) Right... What he said... This chapter is dedicated to my CUTE friend _Hikari- Die _who is finally ungrounded. lol. You must of done something bad if you were grounded THIS long.

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Zombie Extermination

It didn't take long for the group to reach Midgar with the Highwind. Before they marched into the city, they made sure to check their equipment, preparing themselves for anything that might be roaming around the city. When they felt they were prepared enough, they headed into the city, following Rima's lead who known where the Liberator's base is located.

From the last time Rima was at the city, it hasn't changed at all. The city itself still seems dead. The buildings falling apart, practically all in shambles, no source of light in the entire area. Everything is quiet, not a sound of life except for the group's own breathing and footsteps. It's the most unsettling place they've been to yet. No one spoke a word, just followed the silent woman as she makes her way across valleys of destroyed buildings.

"This doesn't look like home anymore." Elena comments, more to herself than anyone else. She and Reno hadn't been back to Midgar since they fled from Vain's army. She didn't think Midgar would ever fall. It had stood up against Diamond Weapon, and even Meteor, yet it was brought down in the coarse of one night by Vain's hoard of zombies.

Reno slipped a cigarette into his mouth and lights it casually, seemingly unaffected by the sight of the destruction around him, "Relax Lena, this city was only holding by a few strings anyway. It was a city filled with poor uneducated people. With no one at leadership of Shin-Ra, it would have fallen apart itself in time."

Elena scowls towards Reno, "I'm glad you take things so lightly Reno. But this is where I grew up, it's home. Now it's destroyed."

Reno shrugs his shoulders, "I was born in the slums, that was my home." Reno steps in front of Elena and stops, "Look around you." He says waving his arms around the city, "This is no different than what the slums were like. So technically, we've only lost half of Midgar. You can't destroy the part of the city that was already falling apart."

Elena crosses her arms over her chest, her lips still set in a scowl, "Well my half of the city is destroyed. I lived on the plate my whole life Reno. Places I know, people I grew up with. All of them were on the plate. Now it's all gone."

Reno flicks his cigarette away and shoves his hands in the pockets of his jacket, "You lived an easy life. You should be glad you had something to lose. Others in the city didn't have anything worth living, except maybe their own lives."

Elena tries to think up of a comment but keeps her mouth shut, no able to say something to the last moment. Luckily the little tense atmosphere is interrupted, "Unless you wish to be left behind. I'd advise the two of you to follow us." Red XIII says, who had been waiting for the two to finish with their little conversation.

Reno shakes his head and walks passed Red XIII, leaving Elena by herself for a moment until she decides to catch up with Reno and the others. Red XIII shakes his head at both of them before following up at the rear of the group.

"Um... How much further until we reach this underground base?" Tifa suddenly asks, growing a bit unnerved from being out in the open for so long. After all, who knows when some zombies could suddenly ambush them from out of nowhere.

"It's on the other side of this building." Rima replies, pointing to the large building about ten meters in front of them.

Daisuke makes sure to stay close to the middle of the group, finding it the safest place to be. If something jumps out in front of them, Rima and Sephiroth will be in front of her. If something attacks from behind, she'll have four people behind her to keep her safe. This is not a place for her, all dark and 'Creepy' as she called it when they first walked into the city. She can just imagine zombies lurking in the darkest corners of the city.

Sephiroth remains as stoic as ever as they make their way around the building, keeping his gaze trained mostly on Rima's form. Watching every step she takes, every breath she inhales. He stops at her side as she stares at the bases complex, somewhat shocked at the surrounding area. Corpses of zombies lay all around the complex, piling on top of each other. At least twenty zombies lay motionless on the bloodstained ground. Evidently, the zombies had attacked in a large number. Now the only question is: Did anyone survive?

"This doesn't look very promising." Tifa comments a bit hesitantly.

Red XIII nods his head once, "Indeed."

"Well we ain't gunna find anything out by just standing around with our thumbs up our asses." Reno comments, growing annoyed. "Let's just walk up and-" Several moans and groans surround the group, "Knock.." Reno finishes after a moment.

Everyone grabs hold of his/her weapon, and looks around, trying to find any trace of the zombies around them. It sounds like their everywhere, slowly creeping up on them. It sounds like there's an army of them. Rima glances around quickly, trying to think of a way out of the mess they've gotten into. Her gaze falls on the steel doors leading to the underground base. She begins kicking at the door, "Open this damn door up now!"

The group backs up towards the doors as the zombies begin filing out of buildings. Have they learned how to ambush people? "We're gunna die, We're gunna die." Daisuke kept telling herself.

Reno glares over to Daisuke, "Stop saying that!"

There's a loud clunk noise, causing the group to turn around just in time for the steel door to open up. "Quick! Get in!" They don't have to be told twice, the group quickly runs in, leaving Rima out for a moment as she stares at the man in disbelief. Deciding it's better to ask later, she runs in, letting the man close the and lock the door behind them.

The group had gotten out of the ambush from the zombies, only to walk into another one. A few dozen men, armed with guns and swords surround them. "Whoa! Whoa! Hold it. It's alright everyone!" The man who opened the door says, pushing his way through the crowds.

Rima turns towards the man her eyes narrowing in suspicion, "Yuffie said you were dead." She says suddenly.

The man runs his hand through his black hair, letting out a tired breath, "Hey, I thought I was too. Until I woke up in Costa Del Sol's infirmary. Some people found me, a little bit after you two left I guess, and brought me to a doctor. Luckily he's good at healing. I was bedridden for two weeks. I thought about trying to catch up with the two of you, but I figured I wouldn't be able to catch up with you guys so I traveled back here. It's good to see you again, I see you guys found your friends."

Rima gives a small smile, the people all around them seemingly confused, "It's nice to know that you are alive too, Kao."

The man grins sheepishly at Rima, he glances around the group, "Where's Yuffie?" He asks, taking notice of her absence.

Rima's smile disappears at the mention of the young ninja's name, "That's why we're here. Yuffie has been captured."

"Vain got her?" Kao asks shocked.

Rima glances around the group for a second, before settling her gaze back on Kao, "No, Vain is dead, we killed him." Whispering fills the room at the comment, "The situation has changed since we... parted ways."

"How so?" Kao asks.

"Kao... Perhaps we should gather them in the conference room so General Julkowki hears this." A young woman suggests.

Kao turns to the young woman and grins, "Thanks sis, that's a good idea." He turns back to the group, "Mika's right, our leader should hear this too. Please follow me."

-

"Let me get this straight." A gruff middle-aged man says. His graying black hair is sleeked back. He has dark brown eyes. He's built like a wrestler, his arms are huge, bare to the world with his yellow vest he wears. He has an old pair of blue jeans on. Battle scars grace most of his features. He's the first one to stand up again the zombies in Midgar, the founder of The Liberators. The foul mouthed, tough as nails, Kenji Julkowki.

Kenji glances around the strange group of people that had wandered onto his base, "You're all saying you defeated Vain, the man who called these walking corpses on the planet. But our real enemy is this Dregon guy, who's been manipulating this whole god forsaken war against Vain from the start. And the only way to stop him from releasing something that you have no idea what it is that he's trying to release, is to storm his base while he's out, kill his soldiers and free your friend?"

Red XIII nods his head once, "Correct."

Kenji sits back and lets out a hearty laugh, "Oh that's rich. It's a good story folks. But I'm afraid I don't believe it. I'm old, but not too old.

Red XIII bows his head a bit, "I'm afraid you misunderstand the situation."

Kenji shakes his head, "Wrong, you are the ones who misunderstand. We have our hands full with eliminating all the zombies in this city. We can't just leave and let those jackasses take it. Just so we can go on this suicide mission of yours."

"I never said it was suicide." Red XIII cuts in.

Kenji's brows raise a bit in amusement, "My fine fuzzy friend, tell me again how many soldiers are outside of the base?"

Red XIII decides not to comment on the 'Fuzzy friend' comment, "We counted close to fifty or so."

"That's not counting whatever many are inside the complex." Kenji points out. "If you add up all my men here, you have maybe thirty, almost half of them have little to no battle experience. This mission of yours is not only impossible to accomplish, but it's also suicide to my men."

"But ya have to try!" Daisuke cuts in.

"I do not have to do any such thing. I will not endanger the few survivors that are here, so we can save one person."

"But if we don't help her, it could be the end of the world!" Tifa tries persuading.

"Miss, have you looked outside? It is the end of the world!" Kenji replies a matter-of-factly, "We're just trying to get our city back so we can live out the rest of our lives in peace."

Sephiroth kept himself out of the argument, leaning against the wall, at the side of the room. He watches as Reno slams his fist on the table, "You dumbass! Even if you do get rid of all the zombies, how long do you think you will be safe? If this jackass isn't stopped, you'll never be safe again."

"I won't risk losing my comrades." Kenji crosses his arms. His decision seemingly final. Reno shakes his head, his anger rising, "Risking your comrades is sometimes the only way to achieve peace. You're not the only one who looses your men. Everyone of us, have lost a comrade, our family, or a friend, most of us have lost all of them!"

Elena bites her bottom lips and reaches out to put a hand down on Reno's shoulder, "Reno..."

Kenji's eyes seem to brighten at the mention of Reno's name, "Ah... Reno of the TURKs are you?" Reno sits back down on his seat, "I knew I recognized you from somewhere. Yes... you fled from battle the night Midgar was taken. You left us all to fend for ourselves. Now your asking us to fight for you?"

Reno scowls, his eyes narrowing in anger, "That battle was lost before it begun. Live to fight another day, TURK motto."

Kenji lets out a sour laugh, "Yes, flee and leave everyone to die. Great motto you have there. That battle was indeed lost before it begun, I'll give you that. But what's the difference in this battle than that one?"

"Our defenses." Rima says suddenly, having been quiet for the majority of the conversation. "Back than you didn't have any real fighters with you. Everyone of us can take a number of soldiers on our own."

Kenji shrugs uncaringly, "Then why ask for our help if your fully capable of taking care of so many soldiers?"

Rima closes her eyes, trying to keep her temper in check. This man is grating on her nerves, and it's beginning to drive her over the edge, "We can't take on a whole army on our own. Some of us won't be fighting, we need to slip into the base and get our comrade."

"Ah, so now we're losing the 'better defenses' as you call them. Tell me, what makes you think I believe that any one of you can take on several men on your own? What if I say I think your just saying that to try and convince me to help you?" Kenija comments, a smirk crossing his lips, obviously feeling he won the argument.

Slowly, a smirk of Rima's own crosses over her lips. "Than I'd have to think that you are blind. Or have you not realized who's in this room?" Kenji raises an eyebrow at Rima, giving her a look that clearly tells her he doesn't understand. Rima shrugs her head over to the wall where the stoic swordsman is standing, "Did you not realize that you're in the company of Sephiroth? The legendary general from SOLDIER."

The room falls silent. Sephiroth ignores all the gasps and stares directed towards him, "I'd prefer if you'd stop starring at me, unless you wish to lose your eyes." Sephiroth warns.

Kenji struggles to keep his composure, obviously shocked to find out that, not only Sephiroth is alive, but he's in the same room as him, "Erm... uh yes.. That's just one man. One man can only do so much. The rest of you however are questionable. And like I said before. I have my hands full with the zombies in this city. If you haven't noticed, the zombies have learned to ambush in large numbers. Are supplies are dwindling down. We can't go out to get fresh supplies without being attacked. They stand out there, waiting for us to come out. Who knows how many are left out there."

'He's just making excuses now.' Rima thinks angrily. She tries to get control of her anger, but she let her fury get the bet of her. Her hands grip the edge of the table, shattering the wood in her hands. Everyone around the table stands up in shock and backs away from Rima.

'Uh-oh..' Kao thinks to himself.

Rima blinks a few times as her eyes turn crimson. Her fangs grow in length and sharpen as her hair turns black. She scrapes her claws on the surface of the table leaving scratches across it. Rima stands up from her seat, "Open the door."

One brave soul runs out of the room and heads towards the door that leads to the surface. Kenji stares at Rima, shock written all across his face, "What the hell are you?"

"The one who's going to kill those zombies. Than you and the others are coming with us to Mideel." Rima says before dashing out the door. She soars through the halls like a bat out of hell. By the time she reaches the door the man who ran out of the conference room, is beginning to open the door.

"Um..." Daisuke trails off, confused as to what just happened, "Should we like... ya know, help?"

Sephiroth walks over to the table and sits down in the seat Rima was occupying, "She can take care of herself."

-

The door is shut behind Rima as she steps outside of the base. Glancing around, she doesn't see anything, "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Rima chants as she walks away form the steel door. Several moans and groans surround the area. The vampire stops where she is and waits, pulling a pair of daggers out of her trench coat. The zombies begin to filter out of the buildings, like they had done when she first arrived with everyone. Slowly, a smirk plays across Rima's face, "Now every last one of you are going to die."

Rima bolts out of her position, charging towards the zombies. Within a blink of an eye she has one zombie dropped to the ground, it's head rolling a few feet away from it's body. Without loosing her momentum, Rima leaps into the middle of a group of zombies. They quickly close in on her. The vampire swings around on her heel, back kicking several zombies with her other foot.

One of the zombies manages to get his hands on her, from behind. Rima turns the daggers around in her hands, so the blade is pointed down to the ground. She drives the daggers into the zombie's ribs. Turning around, she grabs a hold of the zombie's arms and spins him around, knocking several zombies off their feet. The sound of ripping flesh s heard as the zombie's arms tear out of his shoulders. Rima whacks another zombie away with the zombie-arm in her hands.

Tossing the arm off to the side, Rima flexes her claws. She lunges at another zombie, thrusting her claw through the zombie's ribcage, grabbing hold of the decaying heart inside. Squeezing the muscle in her hand, she crushes the heart, she can feel the blood literally explode out of the heart inside the zombie's chest. The zombie gives one final groan before it collapses to the ground.

The vampire woman quickly, leaps out of the group of zombies, landing on a pile of rubble. As the zombies begin staggering up the rubble, Rima grabs a thick wire sticking out of the remains of the building. She pulls it out, the end of the wire has concrete around it. The dark woman swings her substitute club at the zombies' heads as they climb up towards her. The dull cracking sounds of the zombies' skull breaking fills the night.

'This is taking too long.' Rima thinks to herself as she swings at another zombie. Rima glances around, trying to come up with a way to kill them quicker. Rima's gaze lands on an abandoned gas station. "Hmm... OW!" Rima shouts in pain as a zombie sinks his teeth into her forearm. Angered, Rima grabs the back of the zombie's neck and literally rips him off of her arm. Rima picks him up off the ground, her eyes blazing in anger, "Careful what you try and eat. They may bite back." She says. To prove her point she reaches out with her fangs and bite off the zombie's throat. Spitting the chunk of flesh off to the side, Rima twists the zombie's neck, a dull crack following, signaling that she successfully broke the neck.

Tossing the corpse down at the other zombies, Rima leaps off the mountain of rubble and heads over to the gas station. The zombies slowly follow her. Rima quickly looks around the gas pumps. A wicked smile plays across her face as she finds what she's looking for.

-

Kenji shakes his head for what seems like the tenth time since Rima had rushed off. He still couldn't believe there's someone stupid enough to try and take on a whole nest of zombies. He still doesn't think she stands a chance, especially if a 'certain something' happens to find her. Kenji shakes his head again. Nope, he can't believe how stupid kids are these days.

"Stop doin' that!" Daisuke snaps, having been watching him for the last ten minutes. "It's annoyin'!"

The founder of The Liberators runs his hand through his hair, "Do you think it's wise for you to let your comrade fight alone?"

"Rima?" Tifa replies, "Oh she can take care of herself. She prefers fighting alone anyway."

Kenji crosses his arms over his chest, his lips pressed in a fine line, "If you say so."

Sephiroth slips out of his seat, and heads out of the conference room, deciding to look around the base to pass the time. Stepping out of the conference room, his attention is caught by two men conversing amongst themselves. It's not who they were that got his attention, but 'who' they are talking about.

"Did you here?" The one man says.

"What?"

"A woman ran out saying she was going to kill all the zombies! Dude, she most have lost it."

"Who knows? Maybe she can."

"Ha! Don't make me laugh, besides. The zombies aren't the real threat. They're nothing compared to that other thing. Geez... that thing is the size of a building!"

"I think you're over exaggerating a bit."

"Have you ever seen it? It almost killed my group, not to mention myself, the last time we went out. The thing is unstoppable!"

Sephiroth snorts in disbelief, deciding that the two men were just speaking nonsense. One thought continued to nagger him though, 'What if they aren't speaking nonsense?'

-

Rima cackles to herself as the zombies reach her 'firing zone.' Was she ever happy to find out that the gas tanks still had gas within them. Turning the pump on, she squeezes the handle, letting out a stream of gasoline heading towards the zombies. With her free hand she pulls out a lighter and lights the stream of gasoline; making the gasoline pump a flamethrower. The flames engulf the zombies. Their dieing moans and groans filling Rima's ears. To the vampire, their dieing moans are like music to her ears.

The decaying flesh of the zombies are easily engulfed in flames. It doesn't take much time to make the zombies into several large piles of ashes. Rima's flamethrower brightening the night sky in Midgar. The foul odor of burning flesh fills Rima's senses, but she pays it little attention. She continues to laugh merrily as the zombies drop one by one until all that is left is their ashes and their stench.

Rima turning the pump off. She raises the tip of the pump to her mouth and blows out the small flame. Glancing around she can't help but smirk triumphantly, "Well, if I knew I was going to have a barbeque, I would have brought some friends."

Dusting her hands off in victory, Rima begins heading out of the gas station, walking through the steaming piles of ashes. "And that's why you never pick a fight with a vampire. You're likely to get burned."

__

Rrrmmmp!

Rima stops, her brows raising a bit in surprise from the sudden tremor. _Rrmmmp!_ Rima widens her stance to keep her balance from the sudden small quake. 'Must be some tremors from an earthquake' Rima thinks to herself. _Rrmmmp!_ Rima lowers her gaze to a small puddle in the street. Watching the surface of the water ripples from the small tremors in the ground. 'Some bombs maybe...'_ Rrmmmp!_ Rima directs her gaze towards a building as it begins to crumble. Slowly, Rima's eyes widen as something comes out from behind the building. "What the fuck is that..."

Out of the ruins of Midgar, a 'monster of a monster' steps out. Easily standing two stories tall, the creature towers over its enemies. Standing on four muscular legs, it has black eyes. It has two tails whipping around behind it. It's gray flesh is covered with open wounds. Some parts of the creature look as if they were stitched together with wires, as if this creature was constructed by someone. Rima doesn't have to think long to come up with the answer to that question. There's only one man crazy enough to build such a monster. The creature has one large horn bulging out of its skull, it's fangs drip with saliva as it opens its mouth to lick the air with its snakelike tongue.

Rima feels like an insect that's about to be crossed by a boot as she gazes at the monstrous creature. "This... could be a problem." Normally, when Rima turns into a vampire, she fights hand-to-hand combat, opting not to use her sniper rifle. In this case, Rima decides to change her fighting strategy. After all, she wants to live rather than being squished like an ant by the creature.

Luckily for Rima, the beast seems unaware of her presence. Reaching behind her, Rima grabs hold of her sniper rifle. Looking through the rifle's scope, Rima aims her shot at the beast's left eye, hoping that a shot in the eye will kill it. If it doesn't, at least it will be blinded in one eye. Just as the creature glances towards the vampire, Rima fires her weapon. The shot echoes throughout the quiet night.

For a brief second there's silence before the creature lets loose an earsplitting shriek, blood pouring down the side of it's face. Recovering from it's momentary stunned state from the pain, it charges towards Rima, it's massive form shaking the city around him. Rima knows better to stay around to see what kind of damage the creature is actually capable of. With her vampire speed, she dashes towards the nearest building, intending to hide from the creature until another opportunity to attack presents itself.

What Rima had not expected, it one of the creature's long tails to whip around, knocking her into the nearest building. Without a moment to loose, Rima gets back to her feet and dashes into the building just as the creature drops one of it's massive feet down at her. Rima stands in the middle of the building, trying to get her bearings. This creature is certainly a new challenge for her.

Finally collecting herself, Rima raises her hand to her mouth, wiping the blood that dripping from her split lip. She most have bitten her lip with her fangs when she hit the wall. She listens to the creature as it walks around the building, obviously trying to find her. Suddenly it roars, growling frustrated. The building shakes violently as the creature outside begins to smash into it.

Rima knows the building won't last long. She quickly runs towards the back of the building, wanting to leave through the back exit, and try to get into another building. All she has to do is be patient and attack at the right moment. She had managed to blind the creature in one eye already; now all she has to do it get the other eye than the creature will be fighting blinded. It seems that just as she leaves the building, the ceiling caves in behind her.

Sprinting to the nearest building, Rima decides to get to the roof of the building, climbing the many stairs. Once up on the roof, Rima takes a moment to catch her breath, calming herself so she won't still be shaky when she fires another shot at the creature. Closing her eyes, Rima takes a deep breath, the only sound reaching the vampire's ears is the sound of the creature pounding into the rubble that a few moments ago was Rima's hiding place.

The building she's standing on stops shaking as the creature stops pounding into the fallen building, feeling that it killed anything that could have been in the building. Rima raises her rifle up to look through the scope once more. She remains as still as possible as she aims for the creatures right eye. Without hesitation Rima fires her rifle. The sound of the blast causing the creature to turn its head, making Rima's shot miss it's target, instead hitting the creature in the forehead.

The creature doesn't seem affected by the bullet at all. Glancing up to the roof of the building Rima is standing on, it finds it's prey. It growls for a few moments before it begins charging towards the building. Rima doesn't have time to climb down the building this time, the creature is going to plow straight through the building.

In a moment of desperation, Rima leaps forward, off the roof, as the creature rams through the building. The vampire lands on the creatures back, her momentum causing her to start sliding off the creature. With her free hand she pulls out a dagger and jams it into the creature hide. Rima just hangs in the air with one arm as she puts her sniper rifle away. With her other hand free now, she pulls out another dagger and begins climbing up the creatures side, leaving bloody holes in her wake.

The creature begins to kick it's back feet, trying to throw Rima off, but the vampire holds on tight, refusing to be kicked off. Reaching the creature's back, Rima kneels down for better balance. There's a sudden whipping sound behind her causing her to look over her shoulder. One of the creature's tails swings towards her, Rima merely ducks under it, letting the dangerous tail pass over her. She straightens back up after the tail passes over her, that proved to be a mistake. Rima only realized it just as she felt her self being knocked off the creatures back by it's other tail.

For a few moments, everything around Rima turns black when she collides into a building, not even realizing that she was falling towards the ground. She hit the ground hard, making whatever had decided to make her a vampire for not getting any bones broken from the ground. Rima stands up, but everything around her spins; apparently she hit her head as well. She stumbles back; rubbing her temples, until she leaning against the building. She's only faintly aware of the whole area shaking as the creature begins to charge at her.

'Damn...' Rima thinks to herself as she glances up towards the charging creature. She so dazed that the creature and everything around it seems fuzzy. 'Can't get out of the way this time.' She stared, her expression emotionless, as the creature lowers it's head until it's horn is pointing at her as it charges at her. Rima stands at her spot, trying to think of something that would help her at the moment.

It came out of nowhere it seemed. One moment she was standing there, watching as her end nearing her; the next, she finds herself being pushed, or rather hurled out of the way. When she manage to sit back up she saw the last person she expected standing in front of her.

Sephiroth stood there as cool and confident as ever, the eerie black wing stretching out to it's full length. Rima sits there in awe as Sephiroth's form begins to glow as he raises his hands into the air, his eyes seemingly locked on to the creature as it emerges from the ruins of another building.

The creature glanced around for a moment until it spot them, immediately it charged at them, hell bent on killing both of them. A large bright sphere of energy forms above Sephiroth's hands; the beautiful sphere reflecting off of Rima's unblinking eyes. The creature opens it's mouth and roars as it nears.

A smirk appears on Sephiroth expressionless face before he hurls the his sphere at the charging beast. The creature's roar is muffled out, as a deafening explosion erupts upon impact. Chunks of flesh falls from the sky as blood rains down on them, coloring the ground in crimson. The wing on Sephiroth's back disappears as it retracts into his back.

The swordsman turns around to stare down at Rima. For a moment, both are silent as they merely gaze at each other. Rima is the first one to break the silence, with a scowl, Rima says, "I would have taken care of it."

Sephiroth crosses his arms, his expressionless mask pasted back onto his face, "That maybe, but I got the job done quicker."

Rima gets up from her position. She closes her eyes and inhales a deep breath; her vampire features disappear, leaving only the normal looking Rima. Well, as normal as one can look when you're Rima. "Well thanks I guess." Rima says sourly before brushing pass Sephiroth, wanting to head back to the base to report the news to the leader of the Liberators.

Sephiroth knew it would be a long time before he'd get an opportunity like this. Rima and himself, alone. He needed answers to his questions, to calm his crazed mind. He quickly reaches out and grabs, Rima's arm, "Wait." He more or less commands.

Rima turns around to face him, crossing her arms over her chest, she waits for him to speak. Sephiroth takes a moment to think of what he should say. He has to be careful on how he asks his question. He must be calm and smooth. Of course, not everything works out like someone wants them to, "Did you have sex with Valentine?" The words came out of his mouth before he even registered them. When he did, he didn't falter, he remains calm, making it seem as if that's what he wanted to say.

"Wh-what?" Rima's arms fall to her sides as she stands there, apparently surprised by the question.

__

'Her surprise signals that she had.' That little annoying voice in Sephiroth's head decides to makes itself present.

Sephiroth's brows furrow in anger, growing annoyed with his own thoughts, now isn't the time to be arguing with himself, "You heard me." He states, not meaning to sound as harsh as he did.

Rima's surprised expression quickly turns into a glare, "Why the hell would you think something like that? And what's makes you think it's any of your damn business?" Sephiroth doesn't say or do anything. He just stands there waiting. The female gunslinger rolls her amber eyes, "No I haven't. There, can we go back now?"

"Then what happened back in Icicle Inn?" Sephiroth asks, ignoring Rima's question.

"Icicle Inn..." Rima trails off as the memory of that night not too long ago flashes through her mind. She quickly shakes herself out of her reverie, "That's none of your damn business!" Rima replies in annoyance.

Sephiroth scowls a bit, "Answer me."

Rima crosses her arms, "Why the hell should I report everything that transpires between Vincent and I?"

Sephiroth's eyes narrow in suspicion, "So now you're on first name basis."

Rima lets out an audible breath. She closes her eyes in an attempt to calm herself before she loses it again. Without a word she turns around and begins walking away. "Are you going to answer?" Sephiroth calls after her.

"No." Rima says flatly.

Sephiroth glances to the ground, his eyes scanning it for a moment as he thinks to himself. Closing his eyes, he raises his head, "Are you in love with him?" Opening his eyes, he watches as Rima stops, as if she's going to reply. Instead, she does the opposite, she begins walking again, without answering his question.

That's it ladies and gentlemen! Guess what! Guess What! Today is officially _Cry Of Eternity_ 's one year anniversary! That's right! It's been exactly one year since I first posted this fic. It certainly has had it's ups and downs. On more than one occasions I thought about giving up on this fic. But _Hikari-Die _got my ass back into gear every time. And that's why I dedicate this chapter to her, because without her, I probably wouldn't have been able to get this far.

So what are Cloud and Vincent up to? Will the rest of the group be able to get the help they need? Will Yuffie be saved? Has Dregon found the last piece of the talisman? Find out in the next chapter in _Cry Of Eternity_! TTNC! Review!


	6. Gunslinger And The Swordsman

__

Gunslinger And The Swordsman

"This years festival was as much fun as last years." The little girl glances up to her mother, stormy gray eyes gleaming in happiness that can only be compared with the wide smile across her round childish face. "Wasn't it, momma?"

"Of course, Yuffie." The Lady of Wutai glances down at her five year old daughter and smiles lovingly as they continue down the beaten path through the woods. The cool night air is a welcoming change from the usual hot days in Wutai. "It's a shame your father wasn't here to accompany us, however."

The smile on Yuffie's face lessens at the mention of her father, "When will father come home from fighting the bad men?"

Yuffie's mother gives a small smile, "War can last a long time Yuffie." Glancing ahead of the path her gaze follows the small speck of light flying through the air. She pulls her daughter to a stop and points to the small glowing bug, "Look Yuffie. A lightening bug."

"I'm going to catch it!" Yuffie announces, releasing her mother's hand to run ahead. Yuffie giggles as she chases the little bug, trying to catch it before it stops glowing. As she reaches for it, it's little light goes out, disappearing into the darkness. "Drat." Yuffie says. She stands in her spot, waiting for it to blink it's light back on. When she sees it, she leaps at it, not caring if she dirties her new kimono. "Ah- ha!" Yuffie exclaims before peeking into her closed hands to see the little lightening bug. "I got it!"

The sound of scraping steel echoes in the silent forest, a moment later, there's a dull thump as something drops to the ground. "Momma?" Yuffie turns around and walks right into someone. "Momma?" She says uncertain as she glances up to the persons face, however, she's only able to make out their silhouette. Something short and sharp is pressed at the bottom of her chin.

"What about the child?" A woman's voice asks out loud.

"... Leave her. We got our target."

Yuffie glances around her, trying to find out where the man's voice came from, while wondering what these two want. Just as quickly as the woman appeared, she vanished, leaving Yuffie alone in the forest. The little girl glances around frantically, the darkness becoming an unwelcome sight to her, "Momma?" She calls out, walking back from where she left her mother.

"Momma, where are you?" She calls out a little louder as she grows more and more frightened by the second. She begins to run as fast as her little legs can carry her, frantically looking all around her from any sight of her mother, "Momma! Momma! MOM-APH!"

Yuffie blinks as she sits herself up, having tripped over something that's in the middle of the path. Through the darkness, Yuffie can make out her mother's features, "Momma? Why are you on the ground?" No response. Yuffie puts her hands on her mother's shoulders and shakes her, trying to get a response, "Momma why aren't you-"

Yuffie stops what she's saying as she feels something warm and wet on her hands from her mother. Taking her hands away from her mother's form she rubs her fingers together, trying to figure out what the substance is. She raises her hands up closer to her face. She squints her eyes, trying to make out what it is. She sniffs it, but finds that it doesn't have a noticeable sent. She sticks her index finger in her mouth and tastes it...

Blood...

Yuffie's eyes snap open, awaking from her nightmare. At first, she's dazed and confused as she tries to remember where she is. Through her dazed confusion she makes out someone's voice calling out for some 'doctor'. She hears footsteps heading towards her. Blinking a few times, her vision begins to focus. That's when she remembers where she is. She's captured, strapped down to a medical table. She begins struggling, trying to escape from her binds.

"It seems you need another dose."

Yuffie's eyes dart forward, her gaze landing on Hojo. Her eyes travel down to his right hand where he holds an ejection needle. He steps up to her, raising the needle up to her neck, just as he did before, "Wh-what is that?" Yuffie asks, her voice cracking from her fear.

A smirk spreads across Hojo chapped lips, "Just a sedative. Time to continue dreaming. Tee! Hee! Hee!" He jams the needle into her neck and inject the sedative. Yuffie's eyes grow heavy as she slips into unconsciousness. Hojo turns towards his lackeys, "Continue to monitor her brain patterns. We're getting close."

"Professor!" One of the men calls for his attention, "Mr. Dregon has radioed in sir. He's on his way back."

Hojo glances over his shoulder to the sleeping ninja, "Hmm... we should have what we're searching for by the time he arrives."

-

"Any ideas?" Cloud whispers hopefully to his companion as they look at the compound, keeping their attention on any patrolmen near them. They had managed to hike their way towards the base, keeping out of sight from any soldiers wandering around in the forest. They found cover behind some bushes, hiding their forms while allowing them to see everything ahead of them.

Vincent turns his gaze towards the spiky-haired swordsman and slightly raises an eyebrow at him, "You were the one planning on going alone. Have you not planned ahead?"

Cloud scratches the back of his neck, bowing his head in embarrassment, "Well.. no." He admits, "I'm not one for strategizing. It takes me some time to come up with a plan, and that's time we don't have."

For a moment, Vincent remains completely still, keeping his crimson gaze on Cloud. Vincent gives a short nod in understanding, and shifts in his crouched position, in favor of getting in a more comfortable one. He turns his head to glance back out into the compound, "There's multiple soldiers patrolling every side of the base, each armed with standard issued rifles that Shin-Ra gives their MPs. The base appears to be sealed up tight. The only way in is through that door." Vincent explains, referring to the thick steel door in the middle of the compound.

Cloud nods his head, paying close attention to what the Ex-TURK is telling him, "There's a digital code panel next to the door. We'll need the code to go in. There's also several security cameras that are set up around here. I would assume that the security camera's have night-vision as well. There's tripwires set up all around the forest, as you are aware of."

Cloud scratches the bridge of his nose. On their way towards the base, Cloud had just about walked into a tripwire, which would have let everyone within a mile radius know of their presence had the mine gone off. Luckily for Cloud, Vincent had stopped him and pointed it out to him. Then he pointed out the claymore that was delicately placed three feet away from them. Vincent had disarmed it, having learned about various bombs and mines from his TURK days. Once everything appeared to be safe, Vincent grabbed the claymore and placed it inside his cloak. Where exactly, Cloud will never know.

"Okay..." Cloud replies after a moment, "So do you have a plan or not?"

"..."

"Um... Vincent?"

Vincent closes his eyes and releases a long breath, "No."

Cloud sighs and runs a hand through his blonde spikes. "If we get to the door, I may be able to get us in." Vincent says after a moments, "That's saying, if we can get to it. The security is tight."

Despite the situation, Cloud can't help the half-smile that plays across his face, "So we have to 'loosen' up security as silently as possible." Vincent turns his head to share a look with Cloud, signaling his silent agreement. "We'll split up." Cloud suggests, "Makes us less noticeable. Take out any soldiers, disable the security cameras, watch for the trip wires. When alls clear, we'll meet outside the entrance to the base." Vincent gives a short nod. After taking a moment to think, Cloud adds, "Remember, there's some soldiers wandering around in the forest. Best to keep our ears sharp and eyes peered."

Vincent nods his head once again, "Very well." Glancing above the bushes, Vincent makes sure it's clear before he stealthily moves away.

Cloud stays low to the ground, paying extra attention to what he's stepping on and where his foot falls. After all, he doesn't want everything to be blown by such a simple mistake as snapping a twig. He slowly makes his way around the perimeter. Standing behind a tree; he waits silently as a soldier walks by. When the soldier walks pass his hiding spot, Cloud strikes.

-

A single soldier strays off towards the entrance of the forest, his gun hanging loosely on its strap at his side. Pulling out a box of cigarettes, the soldier decides it's time for a smoke. As he lights it, the bushes ahead of him rustle. The soldier tosses his cigarette onto the ground and grabs hold of his rifle. With cautious steps, the soldier creeps over towards the bushes. Standing in front of them, he watching as the bush begins to rustle again. A second later a squirrel takes off into a tree. The man shakes his head, giving a short laugh before turning around.

A hand reaches out, grabs hold of the man's ankle and pulls him into the bush. The soldier's eyes go wide in fear. However, before he can shout for help, a golden claw tears out his throat. A few moments later the soldier is dead.

Vincent stands up from his bush and looks around, making sure no one saw anything. His crimson gaze checks out the area, seeing that the other soldiers didn't hear anything. Not given a second glance at the dead man, Vincent steps out of the forest and runs towards the compound, diving behind some crates to get out of the surveillance camera's sight as it turns his way.

While keeping his eyes and ears strained for any sight of a soldier nearby, Vincent takes out his trusty Peacemaker. With a silencer attached to the handgun, it's a much preferable gun than his Death Penalty which is loud as a quarter stick of dynamite exploding. With his Peacemaker and blood dripping claw, Vincent is more than ready for this sneaking mission. Peeking out of the side of his hiding place, Vincent quickly shoots the surveillance camera before it's able to spot him. Sparks fly from the camera, the green light above the lens blinks out as the camera dies.

"Huh? What was that noise?" Vincent ducks back behind the crates at the sound of a soldier's voice. He listens to the man's footsteps as he walks towards the crates. Vincent gets ready to fire his Peacemaker if he needs to. The soldier stops in front of the crate and looks around, "Hmm..." As the soldier turns around and walks away, Vincent stands up and fires his gun.

-

Cloud made sure to get rid of the soldier's body before continuing on around the base. Luckily the lush forest provides plenty of places to hide a body. Finding some oil drums to hide behind, Cloud takes the time to check his surroundings. 'Heh... Vince must of taken care of most of them already.' Cloud thinks to himself, noticing the sudden lack of soldiers in the area. Cloud turns his gaze towards the entrance to the base, "Speaking of which." Cloud says to himself as he catches sight of the gunslinger crouched in front of the steel door. Cloud checks one more time to make sure no one is around before running towards Vincent.

At the sound of Cloud's heavy footsteps, Vincent glances up from his delicate work. With a short nod of acknowledgment, Vincent turns back to his work with the mine. Cloud crosses his arms; tilting his head to the side. His voice is filled with curiousness as he watches the Ex-TURK work, "What are you doing?"

For a moment, Vincent doesn't reply as he set's the mine on the ground at the side of the door, "I was unsuccessful at getting the proper code out of the soldiers. Therefore our only option is to blast the door open." Vincent explains. He sets up a tripwire an inch above the ground from the mine, that travels across to the other side of the door. "Although it will be more affective if we can blast the door off completely. However, in order to do that, someone must first open the door. When another soldier opens the door, the mine will set off. We will not have to worry about the door being closed if the door is no longer attached."

"Oh..." Cloud says after a moment's contemplation. He glances around the area, still worried that a soldier will see them out in the open like this. "So you uh... take care of the soldiers? I only got one."

Vincent stands up from his crouched position and runs his hand through his hair to brush a few black strands out of his eyes, "I took out a security camera and two soldiers."

Cloud's brows raise in obvious surprise, "That's it? Where are the rest? Before this place was swarming with them."

Vincent gazes out into the forest, "Perhaps they're patrolling the forest at the moment." To prove Vincent's theory, gunfire erupts deep in the forest, followed by several screams of soldiers. Both Cloud and Vincent glance to the forest then at each other. "Have the others arrived?" Vincent says questionably.

Cloud shakes his head, "It's not possible, it would take them another two hours to fly from there back here without having stopped at Midgar first. And since they are, it'll take them longer." A couple dozen men continue to fire rounds in the woods, "There's something else out there."

"Shall we investigate?" Vincent asks.

Cloud opens his mouth to agree when all of a soundly the firing stops. Cloud shrugs his shoulders, "I guess they got it, whatever it was."

Vincent closes his eyes in thought, "Or 'it' got them." Both fall into silence as they think of the possible outcomes of the battle that took place just a few moments ago. In the distance they hear a helicopter approaching. "We should seek cover." Vincent suggests. Cloud agrees and the two race towards the forest. Not a moment too soon either, the helicopter appears from above the forest, and lands down in the clearing.

"It's Dregon." Cloud practically hisses as he sees the mentioned man step out of the helicopter, "He must have found the last piece. How could he have found it so soon? Damnit! So much for attacking while he's away."

"We have a bigger problem." Vincent says suddenly. "Dregon's going to see the mine I planted. He'll know someone is here if he does." Again Vincent is correct. Dregon had indeed noticed the mine before opening the door. He made quick effort of dispatching the mine before calling into the base for more soldiers to search the premises.

Like a colony of ants, soldiers filter out of the base and spread out. Cloud and Vincent try to sneak away, but their efforts are in vain. They're spotted and are soon surrounded. Before they can shoot both of them, Dregon stops them, "Halt!" He calls out, walking over towards him, a knowing smile spread across his face, "Ah... Mr. Strife and Mr. Valentine. Seems you found my little base of operations. I must say, I'm curious about how you found it." Dregon glances around, expecting to see the rest of AVALANCHE, "Tell me, where is the rest of your group."

"Preparing to come swarm this place." Cloud replies, struggling a bit in his bondages.

Dregon laughs, his voice filled with mirth, "Really now? They can prepare as much as they want and they'll still fall. I've gotten everything I need. There's nothing you can do."

"Sir! What should we do with these two?" A soldier asks.

Dregon looks between the two in thought, "Hmm... Throw them in the cells for now. I might find a use for them." Cloud and Vincent glance to one another before they are directed towards the base. As they disappear into the base, Dregon turns his gaze towards another group of soldiers as they walk out of the forest, with a man they captured, "Who's this?" Dregon asks.

"Sir! This man attacked few of our men. We apprehended him. Shall we execute him?"

Dregon gives the man a look over, "Who are you?"

"..."

Dregon raises an eyebrow, "What are you doing here?"

"..."

"I see... refuse to answer my questions." Dregon turns over to the teams leader. "Two others are being sent to the cells as we speak, put him with them."

"Sir!"

-

Cloud growls and kicks the wall of the cell in irritation. He wasn't suppose to be captured, he's suppose to be saving Yuffie! But he's stuck in this cold godforsaken cell. Vincent, more or less, hasn't spoken from his spot across the cell. They were stripped of their weapons and armor, leaving them without a means of fighting their way out. "Damn... what are we going to do?" Cloud asks out loud.

"We'll wait for the others to show up." Vincent answers.

"Can't you let Chaos break us free?" Cloud asks hopefully.

"The demon is too large for such small areas. He won't be much use."

"Damnit."

"Here's some company you two." A guard says as the door is unlocked.

Cloud and Vincent turn their gaze towards the door to their cell as someone else is pushed into the cell. Cloud's eyes widen as nearly jumps in surprise, and surprisingly, so does Vincent. Cloud points a single finger, "Wh-wh-why and what are you doing here?" He exclaims.

Malice graces him with a smirk.

Sorry folks... That's it for now. I'm too tired to write more. Well.. I'll admit... This isn't one of my best chapters lol. I'm kind of just anxious to get to the final showdown. It's causing me to become a bit sloppy as you can clearly see. I already have a bunch of ideas as to what I want to happen. Especially in the last few chapters heeheehee! Well, either way, leave me a review even if it's to tell me how bad the chapter was, it's still all good 0) TTNC!


	7. Charging Forth

Die strikes again! She's motivated me to update even quicker. Thank you die for sending me 'those things' I can't wait to finish this now. But that doesn't mean I'm going to go and rush things. I have a very planned out idea of what I want to do. So without much else to say, let me continue thins.

Disclaimer- Vincent (Crosses his arms and lets out an annoyed breath) Since I am the only one who's awake this late at night... early morning would be more precise... I'm stuck here to inform you readers that Zack does not own us... thank the mighty powers above and all that's holy that I've finally escaped... Die (Eye twitches)

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Charging Forth

Cloud and Vincent both know that Malice wouldn't have been captured unless he choose to be. What they don't know is the reasons why Malice would choose to be captured. The guards behind the mysterious man begin to push him further into the cell, "No talking," The guard orders, "And you, get in- heeya-" Cloud's eyes widen as Malice pulls his hand out of the man's chest. The other guard steps back fearfully, his eyes wide in fright. Before the guard can react, Malice is right at him, snapping his neck.

Cloud and Vincent both get ready to defend themselves. Even if they don't have their weapons, they won't go down without a fight. Malice turns from the dead guard, his right hand dripping with blood. His lifts his head up, the crazed smile spreading across his lips, "I've been watching you." He announces.

"What do you want? What are you doing here?" Cloud demands. Not entirely sure if it's smart to act so hostile towards him.

"Time is running out. Destruction is near."

"What do you mean?" Cloud asks, not fully understanding what he's saying, "Stop speaking in riddles and give me a straight answer!"

"You're weapons are in the room across the hall." Malice turns and points outside the cell, "Get them... And finish your mission. " Before Cloud and Vincent can question him further, Malice runs out of the cell and disappears around the corner.

"We should get our weapons. Someone is bound to come down sooner or later." Vincent advises. Cloud nods his head in agreement. Just then, the entire building shakes as an explosion occurs up at the surface. Vincent glances up to the ceiling, "It appears our reinforcements arrived sooner than expected."

-

Everything is chaos inside the base as soldiers ran around in a confused dazed, not knowing where to go or what to do. Dregon strolled down the hall as if the current attack was like any ordinary thing. Walking into the lab he headed over to the intercom, "Attention men, We are under attack. The enemy will reveal themselves soon enough. Gather outside the base for a counter attack." With that being done, Dregon heads over to Hojo who's engrossed in one of the computers, "Do you have it Hojo."

Hojo leans back in his chair and crosses his arms, "Need more time."

Dregon's brows furrow in annoyance, "How much time."

"An hour, two at the most."

A smile appears on Dregon's face, "Very well. An hour you shall get. It's no doubt that pathetic group bombing us. Their efforts are in vain, this base is too deep to damage. They'll need to come in if they want to save their friends. On their way down here, I'll have a little surprise for them." Dregon walks away, heading towards a steel door. Opening up the hatch, he turns around, "No body is to disturb me. I need complete concentration."

Hojo gives a smirk of his own, "Very well. I'll have what you need when you come out."

-

"This isn't doing much." Kao points out, noticing that the bombs the Highwind is dropping can't reach the base under the lifestream.

"We're going in ourselves than." Red XIII announces. Red XIII turns towards Kao, "You and the Liberators will fight outside." Kao nods his head. "Daisuke." Red XIII calls trying to look for the treasure hunter.

Daisuke appears from behind a few men, "Yea?"

"I want you to stay on the ship, we'll need someone to control this ship. By the looks of things, you're the new captain."

Daisuke gives a playful salute, "Yes sir Mister Furball!"

Red XIII shakes his head. Sephiroth glances out down at the soldiers gathering outside the compound. slowly a smirk forms across his lips, "Those fools. We could easily drop another bomb and kill them all."

"But we need a distraction in order to slip in." Rima speaks up before he has any ideas, "After we get everyone we can bomb the living hell out of them."

"Enough of this useless talking." Reno says, throwing a cigarette onto the deck and smashing it with his foot, "We going to fight or not?" Reno turns towards Elena, "Lena, I don't want you coming in with us. I want you to stay on the ship." Elena opens her mouth to object but Reno interrupts her, "That's an order Elena."

Elena crosses her arms over her chest, looking displeased. However, Reno is the commanding officer in the TURKs now, so what he says, goes. "Fine. I'll wait on this damn ship."

"Everyone ready?" Tifa asks, looking around the group. They all nod their heads simultaneously. Tifa turns towards the few Liberators that had come on deck to see the fireworks, "Go inform everyone that we'll landing. They're to be ready for combat."

"Yes sir Er.. Mam!"

The Highwind gave a sharp jolt as it descended to the group. No sooner had they landed were they being showered with bullets.

Inside the bay of the Highwind, Kenji was giving his men a little motivation speech, "This is it men. We've fought long an hard. Peace is within our grasp, we end this here and now. The Liberators will go down in history for the ones who saved the planet! Fight hard, fight proud. Fight like Liberators!" The men and women cheered, feeling pumped up for battle. Kenji turned towards Kao, "So it's time."

Kao nods his head, "Yes."

Kenji nods his head as he feels the ship land, "Alright men. Let's go!"

The Liberators rushed out of the Highwind, rushing towards the group of soldiers. The soldiers continued to shower them with bullets, taking car of some of their opponents before they're able to reach them. However, as the battle cry of the Liberators only seemed to get louder instead of softer, and they drew nearer to them. The soldiers began to panic. "Charge forward men!" One of the commanders shouts. And they did as they were told. The two armies charged at one another, their forces crashing into one another with blades swinging, guns, firing, and magic coloring the night sky.

Kao glanced up from the fallen soldier, blood splattered across his face, accompanied by dirt. His gaze went to the small group that's traveling towards the entrance of the base, 'Good, it's working.' He thinks to himself before getting back into the battle. All around him he can hear screams and flesh ripping.

-

"Damnit. This needs a code to open." Reno announces after inspecting the locked door. Rima steps up and fires a shot at the lock. Her bullet just deflects off the lock. Reno shakes his head, "You don't know much about modern locks do you?"

"I don't need to know anything about locks. I just break them open."

Reno taps the lock with his Mag Rod, "You ain't busting through this one. I said it needs a code to open, and that's the only thing it's taken. Unless you can walk through the damn walls and open it from the inside, we're stuck."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news. "Tifa interrupts them, "But a few of the soldiers noticed we're over here, and there on their way here."

Sephiroth unsheathes the Masamune, "Let the fools come, I'll kill every last one of them."

Rima shoots him a glare, "We need to get the code from them."

Sephiroth thinks for a moment before the smirk appears back on his face, "Fine. I'll torture them until they give me the code... then I'll kill them."

"Dude... You're beginning to freak me out." Reno announces.

"Put your sword away Sephiroth." Red XIII commands before sitting down on his hunches, "The door is opening." Just as Red XIII said, the lock clicks, signaling it's unlocked before the door swings open to reveal their two missing companions.

"Strife! Where the hell you been!" Reno immediately demands. "You were suppose to be waiting outside for us."

Cloud scratches the back of his head, not really knowing how to explain that he and Vincent were captured. Luckily he doesn't have to, Rima interrupts them, "Talk about it later, right now, we need to get move on before-" Screams interrupt her, the group turns around to see Sephiroth standing above three dead soldiers. Rima shakes her head, "Never mind. Just get in before more show up."

The group hurried into the base. Sephiroth stood where he is, looking down at the blood. Pools of blood around his feet, make him want to spin in a twirling dance. His eyes bright with delight, his lips pursed into a smile that would make you think he's a child walking into a candy store. The adrenaline pumping through his veins, the high of battle... he wants more. "Sephiroth!" Sephiroth shakes himself out of his daze and turns towards the door where Rima stands, waiting, "Move your slow ass." Sheathed his sword before walking into through the door.

For a moment, Rima just watches him curiously, a bit confused by his behavior. She shakes her head, dismissing any thoughts before walking into the base, making sure to close the door behind her to prevent unwanted guests from following them.

The group kept in a single line as they walk down the dark hallways, a few lights hanging above the ceiling being their only source of light "Everyone stay close." Cloud orders as they turn the corner, "And keep an eyes out for any soldiers."

Rima followed in the back, keeping a cautious eye on what's all around her. To her, they managed to get in too easy. It doesn't feel right, something is off about the whole thing. Maybe it's just her, maybe she's just being paranoid, but one thing is for sure, she doesn't like it. Rima stopped as her foot sank into the floor, "What the..." She says quietly, though the rest of the group heard her anyway. They stopped and turned around. The hall began to shake violently, everyone struggles to remain on their feet. The floor opens up form underneath Rima and she falls.

"Rima!" Tifa runs over to where they last saw her standing. The floor slid back into place, Tifa stomped on it trying to make it open back up, "It's not opening, what should we do?"

Red XIII looks down the hall, than back to Tifa, "It would be wise to continue. Rima can take care of herself. We'll meet up with her again somewhere."

"Just leave her behind?" Tifa couldn't believe what she's hearing.

"Look, you said it wouldn't open right?" Reno asks, stepping in.

"Yea, but."

Reno shakes his head, "No buts damnit! We can't waste time trying to figure out what the hell just happened. Like the mutt said, we'll meet up with her again. Now shut up and move on. Someone probably heard us arguing."

"The only person they would have heard was you." Vincent points out.

-

Rima didn't so much as yell as she fell. All around her was darkness. She could feel herself sliding, deeper, deeper into the unknown. Where is she falling? How long has she been falling? Is she near the end? Or is it just the beginning? She begins to see a light, creeping up on her quickly. She's heading towards the light.

Rima hit the ground, hard. For a moment she saw nothing but stars. Sitting up, she shakes her head, trying to get out of her dazed state. Standing up she begins to walk forward, only to run into a barrier. "Kee Hee hee hee!" Rima's blood went cold, chills danced along her spine. She knows that laugh, "Kee Hee hee hee! I see I finally got my guinea pig back."

Rima could feel herself turning. She didn't try to keep it back. She welcomed the change. Her amber eyes changed to the crimson lights of the vampire. The demeanor darkened as she hissed out his name, "Hojo..."

-

Slam! "Ow shit! Why the hell did you stop Strife!" Reno rubs his sore nose that he managed to bash against the back of Cloud's head.

"Watch where you're walking Reno." Cloud said tired and partially annoyed.

"Watch where I'm walking?" Reno repeated the question, his anger rising, "I can't see a fucking foot in front of me! And you're telling me to watch where I'm walking?"

"Would you two please be quiet and move on?" Red XIII asks, the small flame of his tail letting everyone know his position.

"I found a door." Cloud announces.

"Great. Now open it, so we can continue." Reno replies in annoyance.

"Back off and maybe I can." Cloud answers while giving Reno a death glare over his shoulder, or at least where he thinks Reno is. All he can really make out is the outlines of everyone. Hearing everyone back up some, Cloud pulls the door open and sighs in annoyance, "Does everything have to be so dark? I can't see what's through the door."

"It's a large room." Vincent's monotone voice seems to come out of nowhere. "It's empty, nothing in it. There's another door at the far end of the room."

"How the hell do you know?" Reno snaps.

"Because unlike you. I can see in the dark." Vincent replies, growing annoyed with the TURK as well.

"...oh." Is Reno's smart reply. "Well Strife, head on in."

The group pressed forward, making sure to stay close together so no one would get lost, "When I find Dregon, I'm going to make him put lighting in this damn place." Reno announces.

"Reno..." Cloud breathes out in annoyance, "Would you kindly keep your mouth... Do you hear that?" Cloud suddenly asks, stopping in his tracks.

"The ringing sound?" Tifa asks, "Yea.. I hear it too."

"It's giving me a headache." Reno announces.

"No one cares." Sephiroth shoves him aside.

"What is that sound?" Vincent wanders out loud.

__

'Run you fool!' Chaos's presence burst through Vincent's conscience with such force that it caused the gunslinger to be momentarily dazed. Before Vincent could question Chaos's warning, the door behind them closes and locks. The ringing grew louder, and louder. The noise pounding at the sides of their heads. The entire room goes white, as Vincent falls to the ground, the last thing he can remember is the demon's voice drifting away.

-

How long he was down, Vincent doesn't know. But what he does know is that by the time he finally came to, the entire area was covered in darkness again. Glancing around, Vincent tried looking for his comrades. Somewhere in the dark room, Vincent could hear a woman crying. Vincent followed the sobs, thinking that the person crying could be someone from the group. Finally he found her. Tifa sat on the ground, hands covering her face as her body's racked with sobs.

Hesitantly, Vincent reached out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, trying to ward off whatever demons have caused her to be in such pain. The brunette gasped at his touch, and stared up at him with fearful eyes. "You're still here? Come to finish me off too?" She asks as the tears continue to streak down her face.

"What are you talking about?" Vincent asks quietly, confused beyond belief.

Tifa's eyes narrow in anger, "Don't deny it! you killed them all!" She shouts in anger. Vincent's brows raise in surprise. Tifa jumps to her feet and makes a sweeping motioning with her arm, "Look at what you've done. We trusted you, trusted you with our lives. And you go and betray us."

"I haven't... "Vincent begins but stops as his gaze falls on the motionless bodies sprawled across the ground. Pools of blood formed underneath them. All of them were dead, Cloud, Sephiroth, Reno, Red XIII, all of them were shot through the head. Panic enveloped Vincent as he backed away fearfully, "I didn't.. I couldn't have."

"You monster! You deserve to die!" Tifa shouts before racing towards him, her fists swinging.

Vincent immediately raises both his hands and blocked each of her attacked. The blood of his victims are all over his hands. "You freak! monster! You cold-hearted demon!" Tifa continued to shout.

Vincent's anger rose with each insult shot at him. Not able to control the anger in him any longer, Vincent lashed out, knocking Tifa clean off her feet. "I am not a monster!" Vincent exclaims as he grabs the Quicksilver with his left hand. He lowers the barrel down to her head. Without a moments hesitation, or regret...

Vincent fires...


	8. Heart's Darkest Fear

I'm diving right into this chapter.

Disclaimer- Nope... After seventy five chapters, I still don't own Final Fantasy seven.

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Heart's Darkest Fear

Reno cursed as he continued to run through the various halls in the building. Confused by each fork in the road. Not knowing the right choice to make. His heart beats rapidly in his chest, his brow is lined with sweat. His Mako enhanced emerald eyes scanning the possible roots for him to take. His gaze snapped to the left path as he again hears a scream. Fear creeps up his spine as he raises down the hall, desperately trying to reach her in time.

Half way down the hall, he found his friends body, scorched and tattered. A stream of blood dripping from the corners of his mouth as his lifeless blue eyes stare blankly at the wall in front of him. His TURK uniform ragged on his body, covered in dirt and blood. Protruding from the man's chest is one sword, the blood dripping down the length of the blade.

Reno collapsed to his knees, his fists pounding into the floor in anger, anger at himself for being too late. He never felt so helpless than he did at that moment. "Damnit! I was too fucking late.' Reno's eyes narrowed as he glared hotly at the ground. "Whoever did this will pay."

"...Reno..." The TURK's head snaps up, his eyes wide in surprise as the man stares at him. "Reno... look at me..." The man calls out. "You did this to me... I dead because of you." Lifting up one bloody hand, the man points an accusing finger at Reno, "All who come near you, die. I'm no different."

"That's not true!" Reno shouts, pounding his fist on the floor again, "TURKs are suppose to stick together, Rude! You ran ahead, you should have waited for me! Why the hell did you run off alone?"

"You should have come with me... Fought along side me like we always have..." Rude's eyes narrow into thin slits, "You've turned into something I despise. I see the devil in your eyes. You've brought me down to hell with you. What the hell did I do to you? You are no longer a TURK, you're a coward. That's why everyone around you dies. You're family, me, and now Elena."

"Elena isn't dead!" Reno shouts. Just than another scream echoes throughout the hall. Reno jumps to his feet and immediately takes off in the direction of the scream. His legs ached as he forced them to continue on. His breathing comes out in harsh gasps. Another scream fills the air as Reno turns the corner, where he comes to a halt as he watches Elena collapse in the middle of the hall.

"Elena!" Reno rushes to her side, immediately kneeling down beside her and turning her over onto her back. Her dead lifeless eyes stare blankly up at the ceiling. Reno clutched her form in his arms desperately as his tears spilt.

Tifa stood in the darkness, completely alone. Hours on end she called out to her friends, but to no avail. No one answered her calls, no one came to her side. Not a being is around her, not a single living creature. Just the darkness. Where had everyone gone? Had they left her? Are they dead? Did they leave her to die? Why would they leave her? Had she done something wrong?

Silence and darkness. Leaving her lonely and wallowing in self pity. Her feet made no sound when she steps. The only sound she can hear, is the sound of her rapidly beating heart in her chest. Collapsing to her knees, Tifa hid her face in her hands as her body racked with sobs. The tears came freely, but even her sobs had no sound. The only thing to comfort her is the lonely darkness and the sound of her breaking heart.

Screams fill the night mixed with the sounds of the attackers. Red XIII tried desperately to stop the Ghaki Tribe from invading Cosmo Canyon. Yet he was too weak to stop the seemingly endless army. Time and time again he brought them down to their knees. Yet one man was quickly replaced by ten. They managed to get passed him and now the elders are all being killed. The man, women, and children. All perishing at the hands of the Ghaki Tribe.

Feeling defeated and exhausted, Rewd XIII made his way through the secret passage. Wanting to see his father one last time. His whole body feeling numb as the effects of the poison spears begin to attack his body. He can feel his insides slowly turning to stone. Even deep within the caves, the screams from the elders reach his ears.

Finally he reached his father, Seto. As if timed by fate, his legs and the rest of his body, slowly become hard as stone, as his body goes through the final phase of the poison spears. Red XIII gave one last howl for his dieing people, for the father and mother that he failed. For the grandfather who kept the canyon at peace for so long. But mostly, he cried for his failure to protect the canyon.

Sephiroth starred expressionlessly at the monstrosity in front of him. The creature's tentacles lashing about, destroying everything in it's path. Jenova... His proclaimed mother. The one who used him for years on end to get what she wanted. The one who made his life a hell in more than one way.

****

Sephiroth, my son, why do you resist me? I can make you a God, you'll rule over these pathetic creatures on this planet.

Sephiroth scowls and reaches for the Masamune, yet as his hand comes to rest at his side, he realizes that his precious sword is gone. Glancing back up, he's struck away by one of the powerful tentacles hanging from Jenova's head.

****

If you continue to resist me, I will have no choice but to destroy you. You'll either be part of this, or you'll be erased. The choice is yours.

Sephiroth starred coldly at the black colorless eyes. Without hesitation, Sephiroth made up his mind, "I'd rather die than to be a slave for you again." His words only seemed to cause the vile creature to smile with mirth.

****

You're death won't be grieved. No one on this planet will miss you. I'm not the only one who will be glad to erase you from existence.

The soft metallic sound catches Sephiroth's attention, causing him to turn around to stare down the face of a rifle's barrel. Sephiroth's gaze moved up the barrel to the eyes of the owner. For a moment, all he could do is blink several times at Rima as she smirked at him. "Do you still refuse to give in?" Rima asks, "Think of what she's offering to you Sephiroth. It's an offer too tempting to refuse. Take it from me."

The surprise in Sephiroth's expression was only short, but it was there nonetheless, "You wouldn't."

The smirk across Rima's face only seems to grow, "Wouldn't I? To become a God, what else could anyone want?"

__

Yes Sephiroth... Except the offer. Hee! Hee! Hee!

Sephiroth grits his teeth at the voice. He ago decided that the voice in his head was not Jenova. It couldn't be. After all, Jenova is dead, so she wouldn't be able to communicate with him. Sephiroth's eyes widened in realization. 'Jenova is dead, yet she's here. If she's here, then this can't be real...' Sephiroth's eyes narrowed into narrow slits, 'Which means, none of them are real.' His hand goes down to his side, and sure enough, the Masasume was there again. Sephiroth unsheathed the Masamune, "You're all going to die."

Cloud listened to the wind blowing through the fields of flowers and the birds singing. The sun shined through the endless blue sky. With soft steps, Cloud made his way up top of the hill, his feet kicking flower pedals up into the wind. Up top of the hill, he raised his head up and closed his eyes as he inhaled the various scents of the flowers all around.

Cloud opened his eyes as a pair of arms wrapped tenderly around him from behind. Glancing over his shoulder, Cloud smiled at the woman, who in turn returned her own gorgeous smile. "Miss me?" She asks, her voice having a teasing edge in it.

Cloud turned in her arms to embrace her, "Of course I did. You should know that by now." Cloud closed his eyes again and inhaled the fragrance in her hair, his senses picking up the scents of flowers in her hair. They seem to stay like that forever.

Even when the day passes, and the light turns to darkness he can see her. Her lips look so tender. Her voice hits his hearts like thunder, as he shows his desire for her. She's a beauty like no other. With a name that's like a flower. Her red peddles are in his blood. Her sharp thorns are in his skin. It's a torture so sweet and pleasant when her body is in his presence. He'd give his soul to have her.

"Aerith..."

The Ancient raised her head from his chest to stare up into his Mako blue eyes with her emerald ones. Her eyes close slowly as she draws closer to him, an in response, he leans forward. A gasp breaks the precious moment, making them break apart so quickly that they almost shoved away from each other.

When Cloud glanced over to who had interrupted them, he bowed his head in shame. His eyes immediately go to the ground, as the tear filled ninja stares at the sight in front of her. "Yuffie I..." Cloud is cut off as he's smacked across the face, making him fall to the ground. He stared up in shock at Yuffie from his position. She raised her hand, ready to strike again. Cloud turns his head and closes his eyes, ready to take the blow.

Nothing comes...

Cloud opens his eyes, and immediately looks all around, confused by the sudden lack of light. "What happened?" He asks out loud, not really expecting. What a shock it is when he does get one.

"Seems we all have been in sort of induced sleep state."

Cloud recognizes Red XIII's voice. Looking all around, he can faintly make out the fiery beast's flaming red fur from the small bit of light Red XIII's fire gives off. "Where's everyone else?" He asks a bit concerned.

"We're next to you Strife." Reno's voice is heard, "And if I ever have to go through a nightmare like that again, I'm going to kill myself."

"You had a nightmare too?" Tifa asks, "I did too. I dreamt I was all alone."

"I dreamt that Cosmo Canyon was being attacked, I was powerless to save the elders." Red XIII bowed his head in shame.

"I dreamed that Rude was talking to me and Elena died." Reno replies, his voice sounding strained.

"I had a dream too..." Cloud admits. "I dreamed of being with Aerith." Cloud gave a short laugh, "And Yuffie was kicking my ass."

"Hmm..." Tifa glances around, "Where's Sephiroth?"

"Right here." His voice came out of the darkness, making Tifa jump in surprise.

"Well, now that everyone is accounted for. Shall we get going?" Cloud asks as he rises to his feet. He begins walking in the same direction they started, or hoped they started. With his arms extended out in front of him, Cloud finds the wall. He walks along the wall until his hands land on something that feels like a door. With further observation he finds the handle, "Ah-ha!" He pulls the door open, welcoming the light that filters into the dark room. He turns around and grins sheepishly at the group, that is until he notices something amiss, "Hey... where's Vincent?"

The group looks around, not having noticed their dark companion's absence. "Oh no.." Tifa replies, "First Rima, now Vincent."

"Alright, from now on, everyone keep close. We're not going to split up, no one strays from the group." Cloud orders, his voice high and mighty like a true leader.

"But where's Vincent?" Tifa asks looking back into the dark room, hoping that they may have just looked over him. Yet, she still couldn't find any sight of him.

"Forget him. Keep moving." Sephiroth's old voice fills the hallway.

"Hee! Hee! Hee! Hee..."

Vincent slowly forced his eyes open, the maniacal laughter waking him up. His crimson eyes blink rapidly at the bright light filling the room. Where is he? Is everyone alright? Was it just a dream? Vincent pushed himself off the cold ground and shook his head, ridding himself of the dreariness.

"Hee! Hee! Hee! I see you're finally awake."

Vincent jumped to his feet. He could recognize the voice in an instant. Turning around his gaze lands on Hojo, standing several feet behind a glass wall. Vincent immediately grabs his Death Penalty and fires a shot at the scientist. The bullet however, ricochets off the glass.

Hojo waves his index finger at Vincent, "Tsk, tsk tsk. I knew you'd be such a hostile specimen. Which is why I had this made of bulletproof glass. Highly effective. Hee! Hee! Hee!"

Vincent's crimson eyes narrow into thin slits, "Hojo." Vincent hisses out, "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" Hojo laughs, "That's a rather stupid question. I'm here to test my most prized specimen." Hojo answers. He crosses his arms, cupping his chin in one hand thoughtfully, "I created you after all. Given you what you have. You had the demons for thirty years, only used them these past four or five. You lost them but I gave Chaos back to you. I enhanced your body's strength endurance and vitality. I've manage to go beyond science and grant you immortality. I truly am a genius. Hee! Hee! Hee!"

Vincent stood in his spot in the middle of the bright room, not looking amused. Hojo's lips curl up in a smirk, "What I am doing in this exact spot, at this exact time, is giving you one last surprise. The surprise of being killed!" Hojo laughs as he walks over to a panel on his side of the glass. Pressing a few buttons on the panel, three doors surrounding the room slide open, "What better way to die then by the hands of the demons you've kept!" Hojo announced.

Vincent's gaze goes towards the door at the far east corner. He can hear heavy beastly breathing coming from the door. One lean arm reaches out of the shadows, gripping the side of the doorway. Out of the shadows, the Galion Beast pokes his head out, bearing its fangs at Vincent.

Hearing a ghostly groan, Vincent's gaze is redirected to the northern door where the Death Gigas stands, starring at Vincent. The Frankenstein looking creature gaze into Vincent's crimson eyes with his sorrow filled yellow ones. His body bulged with muscles.

Vincent turns his head towards the western door at the sound of a chainsaw being closely followed by Hellmasker's insane laughter. The bloodthirsty demon has the appearance of a serial killer. Using his chainsaw to slice and dice men, splattering their blood across the walls. His head turning three hundred and sixty degrees as if it wasn't connected to his neck. Hellmasker always reminded Vincent of Jason in the Friday The 13th movies Yuffie would watch when they were after Sephiroth.

Vincent made sure to know where all the demons are at all times. Not wanting the risk being caught off guard. One mistake will mean death on his part. "Have fun my little guinea pig." Hojo's spoke before turning around to leave, "I'd stay and watch but I have more pressing matters with your little friend."

"Yuffie." Vincent made a step towards where Hojo walked away. It seemed to trigger the demons to attack. With a mighty roar, the Galion Beast charged forth with his amazing speed, while Hellmasker came at a slower pace, waving his chainsaw around as if imagining tearing through Vincent's flesh.

Vincent quickly raises his Death Penalty at Galion Beast and fires a shot. The demon easily jumped to the side and continued rushing at Vincent, it's horns lowered to impale Vincent. Vincent rolls to the side, getting out of the demon's path. He quickly ducks his head as Hellmasker slashes his chainsaw over his head. Not letting Hellmasker get another chance to polish his chainsaw with his blood, Vincent slams his foot into the demon's chest, knocking him back a few feet.

The Galion Beast leaps high in the air and comes crashing down towards the gunslinger, his horns pointed down at him. At the last possible instant, Vincent rolls out of the way, causing the demon to impale it's horns into the ground, effectively getting them stuck. Galion Beast tries pulling its horns free but to no avail. Vincent places the barrel of the Death Penalty on the demons head.

"Uhnn..."

Vincent glances over his shoulder, his crimson eyes widening immediately as the monstrous fist of the Death Gigas slams into Vincent. The gunslinger loses his grip on the Death Penalty as his back slams into the wall. He falls to the ground dazed. When his head is no longer spinning he watches as Death Gigas pulls Galion Beast free.

'They're working together...' Vincent thinks amazed. When the demons inhabited his mind, they had fought amongst one another for dominance over his body. 'Have they learned to work together because they now have their own bodies?' Vincent's question remains unanswered. Suddenly he's covered in a black fog, souls of the dead surround him. Recognizing the attack, Vincent quickly dives out of Hellmasker's Nightmare before it could effect him. The demon's maniacal laughter echoes in Vincent's ears. Vincent ignores him for the time being and charges towards the other two demons where the Death Penalty lays.

Galion Beast and Death Gigas remain where they are as Vincent charges towards them. As Vincent draws near, Death Gigas begins to beat his chest as electricity flows through his body. Vincent tries to stop but it's too late. Death Gigas lets loose an explosion of electricity that hits the gunslinger full force. While Vincent's being shocked, Galion Beast roars and releases a Beast Flare that explodes on Vincent, effectively hurling the gunslinger into one of the open cells that the demons were locked in.

Galion Beast roars and charges towards the cell, ready to finish Vincent off. Hellmasker and Death Gigas watch as the Werewolf looking demon disappears into the dark cell. A howl echoes in the large room before Galion Beast is hurled out of the cell. The other two demons glance at each other in confusion briefly before looking back to the cell. In the darkness of the cell, another demon emerges...

Chaos...

That's it ya! Uh... Don't know what else to say so I'll just leave it at that. TTNC! Review!


	9. Wutai's Darkest Secret

I had the coolest nightmare last night. It was horrific! I loved it. Every time I woke up I went straight back to sleep, and it started right back where I left off. That's never happened to me before. Heeheehee. It was pretty damn cool. Anyways... The point of all that... well, actually. There really wasn't a point. I just felt like telling y'all. Anyways! I think it's time for me to update this here fic. So here ya go!

Disclaimer- Malice- (Looking over to Zack) So do I come back into the story soon? When do I get to kill someone?

(Rubs his chin) Hmm... I don't know! I haven't decided yet!

Malice- (Sigh) So where'd you hide Vincent?

(Blinks in confusion) I was suppose to hide Vincent?

Malice (Smacks his forehead, shaking his head) Is there anything you don't forget to do?

(Thinks) Umm... Yeah! Like, this disclaimer!

Malice- You mean the one where you tell everyone you don't own Final Fantasy VII?

(Smirks) Hey thanks! Now I don't even have to do that (Walks away whistling)

Malice (Stands there dumbfounded) What just happened?

__

Wutai's Darkest Secret

Death Gigas and Hellmasker glanced over at Galion Beast as it stood back up on shaky legs. Taking a moment to figure out what just happened, the two look back to the cell where Chaos slowly immerges, cackling at the injured demon. Standing fully out of the cell, Chaos flags his demonic wings, lifting off the ground to stare down at the three demons.

Death Gigas gave a mournful moan before beating its chest, electricity coursing through its body. Chaos dives to the side, spiraling through the air to get out of Death Gigas' Livewire. Touching ground, Chaos immediately charges glides forward, his claws drawn back ready to strike. Hellmasker laughs like a maniac as he charges forward, waving his rusty chainsaw about. Chaos strikes first, knocking the chainsaw out of Hellmasker's hands. Being momentarily stunned, Hellmasker gives Chaos the opportunity he needs to reach out and wraps his claws around Hellmasker's neck, raising him off the ground.

Hellmasker tries to pry the other demon's claws off of his neck. Seeing that Chaos's strength surpasses his own, Hellmasker raises both its legs and slams his feet into the demon's chest, successfully breaking free.

Chaos stumbles back a few feet. He merely shakes the pain away before cackling. Chaos hears something like the beating of a drum, followed closely by a demonic roar. Quickly glancing from side to side, Chaos finds himself between Galion Beast and Death Gigas as they begin attacking him with a Beast Flare and Livewire.

Chaos's large wings wrap around him as he crosses his claws out in front of his face. He growls in pain as the electricity from Death Gigas strikes him, not a second later he's struck with a Beast Flare, the two enormous attacks explode all around him. The three demons circling Chaos watch and wait for the dust to settle. They stand there, each giving off their own victorious cackle as they see the King Of Demons sprawled out on the ground unmoving.

Hellmasker is the first to move, puling on the cord of his chainsaw he starts it up before walking towards Chaos. Stopping at the demon's side, Hellmasker lowers his chainsaw down at Chaos's neck, his eyes insanely wide as he savors the moment of killing.

Dregon slammed his fist on the steel hatch, his anger nearing it's limit, "Damn them! They manage to get out!" Grinding his teeth he heads towards Hojo, "Hojo! Do you have it yet? It's now or never!"

Hojo pushes his glances further up on his nose, a smirk forming on his lips. The sounds of shouts and screams of their men can be heard outside their door as AVALANCHE makes its way towards the lab. "See for yourself." Hojo comments before turning away from the monitor. He begins heading towards the stairwell.

"Where are you going Hojo?" Dregon demands, "We're not done yet!"

"Ah.. but we are. Tee hee hee!" Hojo waves his hand over his shoulder, "I've done my job. I have to go check on my guinea pig. She's a rather tempered one. Have to make sure she doesn't do anything too stupid. I'll be at the bottom lab if you need me." With that said, Hojo begins heading further down the stairwell.

Dregon grinds his teeth. Turning away from where Hojo disappeared to, his gaze lands on the bound up ninja behind the wall of glass, "Damnit!" He slams his fist on the monitor. Taking a deep breath, Dregon calms himself down and glances down at the monitor, "Let's see what the Professor was rambling about." He says to himself.

Yuffie tiptoed across the hard mountain path as she heads towards the top of Wutai's glorious mountains. Faintly she could hear her mother signing near the top of the mountain. Yuffie couldn't help but get lost in the melody of it. Reaching the top of the mountain she hides behind one of the large fingers from the hand that's carved into the mountain. From her hiding spot, Yuffie peeks out and stares at her mother starring off into the sunset, singing softly to herself.

Yuffie chews her nail in thought as she stares at her mother, listening to the mystical song. Yuffie can't recognize it, she's never heard it before. The little girl's brows furrow in thought as she stares down at the ground around her mother's feet, surprised to find it glowing a faint green color. Just as soon as she noticed the light, it was gone, "Yuffie, I know you're there."

Yuffie gives a short gasp of surprise at the sound of her mother's voice. Biting her bottom lip, Yuffie shuffles out of her hiding spot, keeping her head hung low like an ashamed child. Chancing a glance up at her mother, Yuffie's faintly surprised to find her smiling at her, causing Yuffie to give a small uncertain smile of her own, "That was a very pretty song, momma." Yuffie comments.

Her mother's smile falters for a brief moment before she replies, "Would you like to know what it was?" Her mother asks. Being the curious child as she is, Yuffie vigorously nods her head, excited about learning something new from her mother. The Lady of Wutai sits down on the gravel, patting the spot next to her, "Come sit down Yuffie." Yuffie quickly does as she's told. "Now... What I tell you now you mustn't repeat to anyone, understand? A secret between us."

"Um... okay. I can keep a secret. I promise." Yuffie smiles up at her mother.

For a moment, her mother gives a doubtful look, but it disappears quick enough, "What I was singing a few moments ago was something my mother taught me, and her mother taught her and so on. It's one of two ancients chants passed down for generations."

"So it's really old?" Yuffie asks innocently, "So many people don't remember them?"

Yuffie's mother shakes her head, "No one knows of them because they're forbidden chants. Both chants can be used in different ways. That's why it's dangerous to let others know about them."

Yuffie slowly nods her head in understanding, "So what are they?"

Yuffie's mother smiles in spite of herself, "You could say they're both Wutai's little dark secrets. One chant has the power to bring life to the dead."

"Really?" Yuffie asks excitedly, "So if someone dies we can bring them back?"

Yuffie mother's gives a small smile, "Not necessarily. The chant itself isn't enough. There's a special materia out there somewhere that's required. Even with it, the people you bring back will most likely not be the same."

"How come?"

"The chant brings the body to life, however it doesn't bring the person's soul back. So all you'd have is an empty shell of what that person used to be. I guess you could say they're just undead... zombies."

"Why would someone want to bring back zombies?"

"If the person who they were trying to bring back had a strong sense of the planet's spirit, they're soul will return to their body. So there's always a chance to bring that person back."

"Oh..." Yuffie trails off, not fully understanding.

"However, the drawback of it is that the body would still be that of an undead. The person won't age, so they won't die by the passing of time. Some think it's the glorious power to have. The truth is, is that it's a curse. To live on while those you love die around you. You'll end up living a sad lonely life full of grief, soon you'd be asking for death yourself. They called this chant, Le Cas Fo Gollos, The Rise of The Dead."

"Creepy." Yuffie comments.

Her mother laughs a little, "Yes it is, I guess. That's just the first chant however. The second one has a lot of conditions in order to work properly. This one however, can be used in two ways. For life, or for death. Two sides of a coin you might say."

"So what does it do?" Yuffie asks nervously, not sure she wants to know after hearing what the first chant does.

Her mother let's out a tired breath, "Well, first off. One way to use it is to restore something back to what it was. It's power is limited by the user however, considering it drains your life force to get something back. You could use this to bring someone back to life fully without causing the person to be an undead. However, the price for that would cost your life. To bring one's spirit back you would have to give up your own. Depending on how strong you are, you could very well restore part of the planet.

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"It's not as good as it seems. I can't explain it fully since I've never actually used it really. But your body undergoes an immense amount of stress, your muscles constrict around your bones. It feels like each and every single bone in your body is breaking. All you know while it's happening is pain."

Yuffie shudders at the description. "Then there's the other way it can be used."

"Another way?" Yuffie asks questioningly.

Her mother nods. "This way can only be used by one who is undead. It calls upon a power from the darkest reaches in the planet that makes the planet tremble from the power. It'll destroy everything in its path. The one to call upon this power is believed to have control of it, but it could very well backfire on them since it has a free will and will decide whether it wishes to be controlled or not." Her mother leans back on her arms and looks up to the stars that had snuck into the sky while she was telling Yuffie about the chants, "They call this chant, Le Foe Gladios."

"Le...Foe Gladios?"

Yuffie's mother nods her head, "Yuffie, I'm going to pass these two chants to you. I'm going to teach them to you, even though they are dangerous, they are part of Wutai's history and should not be totally forgotten."

Yuffie gulps and nods her head, "Okay.."

Yuffie's mother smiles, "No repeat after me..."

Galion Beast and Death Gigas both let out surprised roars as Hellmasker drops his chainsaw to the ground. The demon's arms fall to his sides as Chaos stands up, raising his arm up, lifting Hellmasker's body up as well. Coming out of Hellmasker's back is Chaos's blood dripping claw that he impales through Hellmasker's chest. Chaos cackles before tossing Hellmasker's body off to the side.

Galion Beast leaps forth, charging at Chaos with his horns lowered. Chaos bares his fangs as he reaches out, grabbing hold of the other demon's horns before they could impale him. Galion Beast growls as he digs his hind feet into the ground, trying to drive Chaos back. Chaos's leathery skin tightens around his muscles as he supplies presses to the two horns, trying to push them together. The werewolf-like demon howls in pain as his two horns shatter apart.

Chaos reaches out, grabbing hold of the other demon's throat and literally tearing it out. Galion Beast gaze one last gurgled howl before dropping dead at Chaos's feet. The demon is knocked off his feet by one of Death Gigas's mighty fists. Fury builds up in the King of Demons. Spinning up into the air, Chaos's eyes glow a bright crimson.

All around Death Gigas the floor begins to shake. The demons finds himself being elevated by the ground below. Under his feet, Chaos face shapes into the ground. Opening up his mouth, souls begin to fly out, circling around Death Gigas, seemingly harmless at first. Suddenly, one of the souls flies into Death Gigas's body. A second later the soul leaves the demon's body, dragging out a transparent form of Death Gigas, the demon's soul. The soul drags Death Gigas's back down into hell with it before everything around the demon is turned back to normal.

Chaos smirks to himself as he watches Death Gigas's pale yellow eyes roll into the back of his head before dropping to the ground. Chaos glances around, admiring his handiwork before giving a howl of pain as Vincent takes over again.

The gunslinger drops to his hands and knees as he gasps for breath. His whole body was sore, usually he wouldn't feel so sore after transforming. Granted, he'd be exhausted, but not in pain. Something suddenly gives a jolt of pain at his side, causing the gunslinger to fall to the ground. Taking off the tattered remains of his cloak, Vincent looks down at his left side, watching as something suddenly bulged in his body before residing back inside. 'Something's wrong.' Vincent thinks to himself.

__

'You have nothing to worry about.' Chaos's voice snakes into Vincent's mind.

Vincent's brows furrow in confusion, 'Chaos... what is happening to me?'

__

'Nothing is happening to you, it's me.' Vincent's confusion is easily read from the demon, when questioned about what the demon means, Chaos doesn't reply, he slides back out of Vincent's mind, with his disappearance goes the pain in Vincent's body as well.

Vincent takes a moment to breath before standing back up, grabbing his tattered crimson cloak of the ground as well. 'Chaos... What are you doing?' Vincent thinks to himself. The demon however, doesn't give any further information.

"Jesus! How many of these bastards does this guy have working for him?" Reno grumbles as he shots another electrical blast from his Mag Rod, stunning a few soldiers in the process.

"Their numbers are dwindling. If there's so many here, that means we must be close." Cloud shouts over all the loud fighting, "My bet is that it's the door at the end of the hallway."

Tifa growls in frustration as the soldiers kept coming. Having had enough, she jumps back away from the fighting, pulling out a red orb from her glove, "We need to get through, and we need to get through now! Bahamut!"

Upon hearing Tifa's summoning, Reno, Cloud, Red XIII, and Sephiroth quickly made their way out of the fighting just as the dragon appeared in the hole. The soldiers began fleeing, but weren't quick enough to get out of Bahamut's blasting zone. A series of screams fill the hall as the soldiers are blown away from Bahamut's Flare.

When Bahamut disappears, the three men and beast turn to look at Tifa questioningly. Tifa shrugs her shoulders, "What?"

Reno scuffs, "Now why didn't I think of that before?"

Cloud shakes his head, "Well it's clear now, let's go!"

Vincent staggered down the hall, keeping himself supported by the wall as he continued on his way. His whole body had begun to ache again. His vision becoming fuzzy, Vincent blinks, trying to clear it. Something inside of him is changing, and he's afraid that he doesn't know what it is. One moment he would feel fine, the next, it'd feel like something is eating his insides. Countless times he's called for the demon, demanding to know what is going on.

The gunslinger can't think of any reason why this is happening to him. Something wet drips down the side of his neck. Raising his organic hand to his neck, he wipes it, and brings it back to his face to examine what it is. 'Blood...' Vincent blinks at the sight of it. Vincent recognizes the area at his neck where the bite marks are that Rima gaze him.

Suddenly, a new thought flashes through Vincent's mind, 'Am I... turning into a vampire?' It could explain his sudden pain. 'It can't be... Chaos said he could stop it.' Feeling the lack of energy, Vincent leans against the wall to take a moment to gather his bearings, 'He also said that this is his doing.'

Vincent had never thought that the demon could actually be inside of his body. He always assumed just the spirit of the demons lurked in his mind, at most their blood running through his veins. But from all the pain he's in, it feels like claws are trying to dig out of him, trying to break out of him. Everything is just so confusing to Vincent now. He doesn't know what to think.

'I have to keep moving.' Vincent tells himself. Pushing himself off the wall, he takes a step forward, and immediately regrets it. His foot causes a part of the flooring to sink. Before Vincent can react, the floor underneath him gives out, causing him to fall downward.

Rima followed Hojo with her eyes as he paced around the lab, outside of her capsule. She had long since given up on trying to break through her containment after finding out that it's really quite solid. Even in her vampire form she wasn't able to cause it to crack. So now she just waits. Waits to find out what Hojo is preparing to do. All he's been doing for the passed five minutes is walk from monitor to monitor studying the screens, as if he were analyzing something. Every now and then the professor would start chuckling to himself. Something that Rima finds quite annoying, making her want to rip his throat out even more.

"I have a special surprise for you." Hojo finally speaks, as he types away on one of the panels, "I plan on finishing what I started with you all the years ago."

"And what would that be? You already made me into this." Rima replies disgustedly. She can't think of anything else the professor could have in mind.

Hojo turns away from the monitor and smiles knowingly at the woman, "Ah.. but the experiment is not over. See, right now, you're able to control your blood, allowing you to shift between forms."

Rima's brows furrow in question, "So?"

Hojo begins laughing, "I plan on changing that. I'm going to completely change you!" The excitement in his voice is elevated with his laughter.

Oh how Rima wishes she isn't confined so that she may gorge out his eyes with a pair of freshly sharpened daggers, "You come near me, and I'll kill you." Rima threatens.

Hojo covers his smile with a hand, "Hee! Hee! Hee! Really now? Hmm... I really don't like leaving something unfinished." He lowers his hand, letting Rima see the smirk across his, "Luckily, I've been preparing for this ever since I've found you again. With a simple push of a button, the process will begin!" Hojo raises his hand up and lets it hover above the panel.

Rima jumps to her feet, placing her hands on the sides of her containment as she glares at Hojo, "If you push that button, I'll swear I'll make you regret it."

Hojo's smile only widened from the threat, "A life without regrets is a life not worthy of living." Hojo pushes the button.

Rima's eyes widen in fear. She takes a few steps back until she's standing in the middle of her chamber. Red mist begins filling her small dwelling. Rima takes a deep breath and holds it, not wanting to breath it in. Hojo laughs at her, "You can't hold your breath forever." He says, "And you'll just end up breathing it in once you black out. Either way you can't resist!"

Rima doesn't care, she'll try and resist as long as she can, anything to prevent from giving in. She'd rather die them be subjected to more of Hojo's experiments. The red mist finishes filling the capsule, everything around her is surrounded in the red mist. She begins to get lightheaded, her eyes begins to water, her chest burns as it begs for oxygen. Unable to hold her breath anymore, Rima exhales and begins breathing it in, much to Hojo's satisfaction.

For a moment, Rima thinks that it just might not be doing anything. That maybe, just maybe, Hojo's experiment is a failure. Rima collapses to her knees, letting out a painful scream as her muscles feel as if they're ripping and tearing. Hojo watches intently, his eyes unblinking. Rima stumbles back to her feet, her hands covering her face, her lungs feel like they're on fire.

Hojo brows raise in surprise as the hatch at the top of Rima's capsule slides open and in falls another body falling on top of Rima. Hojo curses silently before stopping the process. Vents open up in the capsule to clear out the red mist within, making visibility clearer.

Rima groans painfully from the weight on top of her. Pushing herself into a sitting position she blinks in surprise at the sight of a familiar crimson cloaked gunslinger, "Vincent?" She calls out in confusion. She pushes him off of herself and onto his back. A layer of sweat is formed on his face, his eyes are squeezed shut as his face is contorted in pain.

"Oh... Now how did he get in there." Hojo asks to no one in particular before laughing quietly. He examines Vincent from the other side of the capsule, "It seems he's in a great deal of pain. Tee! Hee! Hee! Was my little gift for him a little to much?"

Rima sets her eyes on Hojo to glare at him, cradling Vincent's head in her lap, "What the hell did you do to him?" She demands.

"I simply reunited him with his other selves."

"What?" Rima replies in confusion, not understanding what Hojo is saying.

Hojo scratches his chin, "Hmm... Oh that right. You did not know that he had three other demons within him did you? How could you, I took them before you met him. Hee! Hee! Hee! So I reunited them!"

Vincent groans as he slowly opens his crimson eyes, his gaze landing on Rima above him, "Rima?..." He calls out questioningly. Hearing her name being called, Rima glances back down at Vincent. For a split second, Vincent's eyes widen before they narrow in anger, "What did Hojo do to you?"

Confusion flows through Rima's mind, "What do you mean, what did he do to me? What did he do to you?"

Vincent lifts up his organic hand pokes her lips with a single finger, the tip of his finger immediately drawing blood from the fang protruding from Rima's mouth. Rima takes a quick intake of air as she jumps to her feet, letting Vincent's head hit the floor in the process. Lifting her hands up to her mouth, she feels her teeth, figuring out that one of her fangs were longer the other. Her gaze lands on a few strands of her hair, she grabs a fistful of it and brings it up to her face, seeing that there's black streaks in her normally crimson hair. Rima's brows furrow in anger as she turns to the chuckling scientist, "What the hell did you-" Rima stops as she stares at her own reflection in the glass, her gaze focused mainly on her own eyes. Two different colored eyes, crimson and amber.

A smirk appears on Hojo's lips, "Well, we're halfway done."

Cloud and the rest of the group burst through the upper lab doors, their gaze immediately landing on Dregon. The man turns away from the monitor, quietly at first he begins to laugh, it grows louder and louder as he laughs uncontrollably.

"Well he's in a good mood." Reno mutters to the group.

Cloud makes a swiping motion with his massive sword, "Dregon it's over! Where's Yuffie?"

"Oh how wrong you are!" Dregon announces, "You're too late! I have what I needed! You can't stop me now!"

"What?" Cloud replies surprised. , taking a few uncertain steps back.

"Cloud, look." Red XIII points with his nose through the large window.

Cloud glances from Red XIII to the window his eyes widening in surprise, and relief, "Yuffie!"

(Yawns) Oh man... what a hard and tiring day. Well, this is it y'all! The ending is drawing closer and closer. I miscalculated. I reckon there's three to five chapters left to this thing. Then I'll finally be done and over with this huge ass thing. (Wipes the sweat off his forehead) Man this story sure is a workout. My goal is to finish this fic in two to three months. So thank you everyone who's kept with me through this thing. TTNC


	10. Father And Son

Alrighty then! I back y'all! And I'm here to give ya all the next chapter! Let's just get on with it. This chapter is dedicated to Hikari-Die who lost the internet and may never be able to read the rest of this fic. My apologies to you for taking too long.

Disclaimer- I don't own Final Fantasy VII.

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Father And Son

Cloud gripped the hilt of his sword tightly as Dregon continued to laugh to himself. 'Yuffie better be alright.' Was his only thought before he lunged towards the maniac. "We'll stop you now!" Cloud shouts, swinging the Ultimate Sword down at Dregon. The laughter seizes as Dregon turns towards the blond warrior, a smirk upon his cruel pale white lips. The blade of the Ultimate Sword bounces back a few feet away from Dregon.

"Have you forgotten already?" Dregon asks, his voice filled with mirth, "You can't even touch me, how do you plan on stopping someone you can't even strike?" Dregon shakes his head in amusement, "You are as foolish as Vain."

Cloud gritted his teeth, while he tried thinking of a new way of attacking, 'Damnit.'

"Perhaps if we all attack at once." Red XIII suggests after watching Cloud's failed attempted.

The suggestion only made Dregon laugh once more. "Foolish beast." Dregon comments before holding his hand out. Red XIII is lifted off the ground by Dregon's telekinetic powers, "Even if that could work, I could just stop you from charging. I have wasted my time with you fools long enough."

Dregon hurls Red XIII into Reno, causing the two to fall back a few feet. Dregon turns from the group and runs through a hatch, locking it behind him. Cloud cursed as he found himself unable to break through the hatch. "We have to stop Dregon!"

"What about Yuffie?" Tifa asks suddenly.

Cloud steps in front of the large window, drawing his sword back as he does so. With one skillful and precise swing, Cloud shatters the glass, allowing him and the others threw to the room Yuffie is being held in.

Sephiroth stood where he is, watching the group run to their friend. His gaze wanders to another door in the room. He felt himself being drawn towards it, as if something was calling out to him. With one last glance at the others, Sephiroth headed towards the door. Behind the door he finds a spiral staircase that leads down. The staircase itself reminds him of the one in the ShinRa Mansion back in Nibelheim. Without hesitation, or caution, Sephiroth begins to head down the staircase.

Rima can't do more than just glare at the insane scientist, while thinking up a thousand different ways to kill him in the most slow and painful ways. When she manages to get out of her confinement, she'll make sure to try each and every one of them. "Hmm... This is interesting." Rima hears Hojo comment. "I wonder what sort of reaction there would be if I were to continue the procedure with my other specimen in there."

Rima's eyes widen in fear before she glances down at the unconscious Vincent. 'Whatever's happening to him, it must be painful to knock him out.' Rima thinks to herself before turning back towards Hojo, "Don't you even think about it, Hojo." Rima warns, "He has nothing to do with this, I'm the one you want."

Wrinkles form at the corner of Hojo's lips as he grins, "On the contrary! He is my first real experiment." A frown crosses his lips as he thinks, "An unfinished one at that. And one that's unfinished is also a failure, and I don't like creating failures." Hojo walks over towards the control panel once more, "However, I can make the failures better than anything I've created with a simple push of a button."

"Hojo... If you push that button, I'll.."

Hojo shakes his head at Rima while waving a lone finger, "Tsk tsk tsk. You shouldn't threaten your master like that. Not when he has a special surprise for you after the procedure."

Rima's eyes narrow coldly, "I don't want any of your 'surprises' Hojo."

The smirk that Rima has long since hated and despised reappeared on Hojo face, "Again, you are wrong. You will enjoy this surprise." Hojo points towards a sealed door across the laboratory. The steel door is locked tightly. It gives the observer of the impression of those rooms crazy people are locked up in with a stray coat, with just small window to look through to make sure they're alive. "Just beyond that door is something you have lost. And something my son never knew about."

"Sephiroth?" Rima says in confusion, "What does he have to do with any of this? And what's behind the door?"

"Ah.. So now you want my surprise? Well, you'll have to go through this procedure first." Hojo aims to push the button in order to start up the experiment once more.

"Hojo, don't push that button, or I'll make sure you'll be begging to be killed."

"You speak too much. I'll be sure to take away your voice next." Hojo replies before pushing the button.

Rima's brows shoot up to the edge of her hairline as the red mist begins pouring out of the vents once more. 'Damnit!' Rima walks over to Vincent and kicks him in the side, trying to bring him back to the land of consciousness. "Wake up, Valentine!" Rima orders.

Vincent's crimson gaze appears as he opens his eyes. For a moment he lays there, blinking a few times, as if he were in some sort of confusion. Without trouble, Vincent stands himself up, acting as if there was nothing wrong with him a few minutes before. Immediately, he noticed the substance flowing into the their chamber. "We have to get out." Vincent states the obvious.

Rima rolls her two different colored eyes, "I know. Can you transform into that demon and break out?"

Vincent looks around the chamber, analyzing the thick walls, and the amount of space they have. "The area is too small for Chaos to be summoned."

Rima gives out a breath of defeat before sitting on the ground, accepting her fate, "Damn Hojo always beats me." She mutters under her breath.

"TEE HEE HEE HEE! That's right! Be good little specimens and go through with the procedure willingly!" Hojo says from the control panel. "HEE HEE HEE! There's no way for you to escape! You both are my specimens! Therefore, you belong to me. I am your master, you are my puppets!" Hojo throws his head back and laughs, "HEE HEE HEE!... HEE HEE! H- WAHT?" Hojo jumps back, just in time to dodge a large deadly sword from impaling itself into him. However, instead of hitting Hojo, the sword impaled the control panel, causing sparks to fly and circuits to fry.

Vincent and Rima look around in confusing as the vents shut off and the red mist stops flowing into their chamber. Rima's gaze suddenly goes to the control panel, wanting to find out what had stopped the experiment. There, impaled through the control panel with the light reflecting off the insanely long deadly blade, stood the Masamune. "That's..." Rima trails off.

Vincent nods his head, confirming her suspicions, "Sephiroth is here."

Hojo turned his frightened gaze towards the entrance of the lab. Footsteps echo in the silence as Sephiroth steps in from the darkness. His gaze goes to the two captured, then finally to Hojo. Sephiroth's brows knitted together as he smirked, "Hello father."

Cloud glanced down at Yuffie in his arms, "Yuffie? Yuffie? Wake up!" He calls out, shaking her in his arms. Everyone around the two stood by quietly, waiting to see if they had made it in time, or if they were too late. "Yuffie, please wake up." Cloud says, his voice strained with grief.

The ninja gave the faintest of moans before her grey eyes manage to peek open. Through her fuzzy vision she sees what appears to be a chocobo. 'Am I dead?' Yuffie thinks to herself, 'I didn't know chocobo's would be here too.' Her vision clears up soon enough, and she finds her gaze locked into a pair of make blue eyes that she's missed, "Cloud!"

"Yuffie! You're alive!" Cloud exclaims before holding her tighter.

Yuffie manages to snake her arms around his neck to return the small gesture. She can't help but smile at the fact that she's in Cloud's arms again. It only takes her a few moments to realize that there's an audience watching them. "Tifa! Red! Er... Reno!... Wait a minute... Where's Rima? And Vincent? And Sephiroth for that matter?"

The group glances around, confused, not having realized Sephiroth's disappearance. "Wait a minute..." Yuffie begins, "Where's Dregon?" She looks to Cloud for an answer, "Did you guys kill him?" Her voice is filled with hope.

Cloud shakes his head, "No, we didn't." Yuffie curses under her breath. "Yuffie..." Cloud trails off, Yuffie brings her gaze back to Cloud, "Dregon said he got what he was after."

Yuffie's mouth dropped open, her eyes wide with fear, "W-we need to find him! We need to stop him!"

"What is it that bastard wanted?" Reno demands, having had enough of not being clued in on what exactly they are trying to stop. "What the hell will he do?"

Yuffie grabs fists full of hair and shakes her head, "I don't know. I don't know! I don't know what it is! I never seen it or heard of it being used!"

Cloud nods his head and turns to the group, "Let's get out of here, we need to get back to the Highwind."

"What about Vincent? And Rima. And Sephiroth?" Tifa asks.

Cloud lowers his gaze to the ground in thought, "We'll come back for them later. Right now, I'm worried about Dregon. Whatever this is, it can't be good. So we have to try to stop him while we have a chance."

"So we abandon them?" Tifa asks in disbelief.

"Damnit Tifa! I don't know what to do right now!" Cloud shouts in anger causing everyone to go silent. Cloud takes a deep breath before he continues. "I don't want to leave them behind, especially when I don't know if they are alright or not. But we can't just leave Dregon to roam free. We have to find him and stop him!"

Tifa nods her head in understanding, "Alright... Let's go to the Highwind. Besides, the others would head that way since we were split up, right?"

Everyone falls silent, not really knowing the answer to that question. Finally Yuffie nods her head in agreement, "Right. Now lets go find Dregon so I can kicked his ass!"

Hojo grinned as Sephiroth stood there staring at him, "Ah, so you know the truth. Yes. I am your father Sephiroth. Jenova and I created you."

Sephiroth's eyes narrow dangerously, "Jenova was not my mother. You've kept the truth from me for thirty years. But no more. I know the truth now Hojo." Sephiroth begins stepping towards Hojo, "And for that, I'll be more than happy to kill you." Hojo backs away as Sephiroth grabs hold of his Masamune.

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'Tee Hee Hee! Having fun? I know you are.'

Sephiroth stops and growls at the annoying voice in his head. He shakes his, trying to clear his mind, aiming to enjoy this. His gaze goes back to Hojo, confused at the fact that the scientists is smirking.

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'Can you really do it? Can you really kill your own father? Are you really that cold hearted?'

Sephiroth's eyes widen in realization, "You!" He shouts at Hojo, "It's you!" Without another moment's hesitation, Sephiroth leaps forward, more than ready to kill Hojo once and for all.

Hojo let's out a shout before jumping out of the way and running towards the sealed door. He begins unlatching the door as quickly as he can. The sound of bone and flesh being sliced is heard as Sephiroth jams the Masamune through Hojo's back, causing the scientist to scream. To scream without a voice as all the wind was sucked out of him from the attack.

Sephiroth smirks at the sight of the scientist's blood before pulling the sword out of Hojo's back. The scientist drops to the ground. Struggling for breath, Hojo rolls to his back and forces himself to sit up against the wall, the blood seeming to rush out of him like a crimson river. Hojo coughs up blood, "I... heh...heh... still have...a.. surprise... Hee...Hee..." Hojo manages to say through a throat full of blood as he reaches up to the last hatch. He takes the lock off the hatch and drops it to the ground, his hand following closely behind. "To be slain... by my own... creation." Hojo says before his head drops forward.

The corners of Sephiroth's lips uplift as he stares at the dead body. He finally got his revenge for everything Hojo has done. He had ruined his life in more than one ways. He didn't even have a life of his own, having been doing everything ShinRa has ordered, constantly on missions, then being manipulated by Jenova. 'It's all because of you, that things went the way they did.' Sephiroth says, 'Now I'm free from you, and I won't have to deal with you being in my head.'

"Hey Seph! Get. Us. Out. Of. Here. Now!" Rima shouts, trying to get his attention, all the while trying to control her boiling anger. 'Hojo was suppose to be mine!'

Sephiroth took a moment to white his sword clean of Hojo's blood with the dead scientist's lab coat before he headed back over to the control panel in front of the hatch. Sheathing the Masamune at his side, Sephiroth frowns at the wrecked control panel, trying to figure out a way to make it work.

"I believe there is another panel on the side of our confinement." Vincent says out loud.

Sephiroth gives a 'hmph' before walking around their chamber. He finds another control panel, smaller than the main one, attached to the side of the chamber. 'Now how do I release these two? This button?' Sephiroth thinks as he reaches up to press it.

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'Tee hee hee hee!'

Sephiroth's finger freezes where it is at the sound of laughter in his head. 'It can't be... I killed him.' Sephiroth thinks to himself. His gaze immediately goes to Hojo's body, still sitting where he left it. Nothing was different about the dead scientist. 'I still have a surprise for you.' Sephiroth recalls what Hojo had said. His eyes widen in surprise before he unsheathes the Masamune and walks back around the chamber.

"What the hell are you doing?" Rima shouts, "Get us out damnit!" Sephiroth ignores her calls and stares at the sealed door.

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'Hee hee hee! Don't worry! You did kill your father.' Sephiroth hears ringing in his mind, _'Now I get to kill mine! Tee hee hee hee!'_

Sephiroth watches closely as the sealed door opens up, the door screeching on it's hinges. Darkness is all anyone could see behind the door. The room became deathly silent, Rima stopped demanding to be set free as her gaze remains transfixed where Sephiroth's is.

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'And then my mother will be next!'

Sephiroth drew back at the sudden appearance of a pair of dark crimson eyes glowing out from the darkness. He remains frozen in his place, as if hypnotized by the crimson gaze. One lone hand sleeked its way out of the darkness and grabbed Hojo's body, pulling it into the room. Chills run down everyone's spine as they hear the sound of tearing flesh. A pool of blood streams out of the room and into laboratory.

Hojo's body is tossed back out of the room, his white lab coat colored crimson with his own blood. Yet something was very wrong with Hojo's body. The fact that the body had no head didn't go unnoticed by all who watched. Quicker than Sephiroth expected, the figure dashed out and struck Sephiroth. From the sheer shock of the unexpected attack, Sephiroth loses his balance and falls back into Rima's and Vincent's containment.

Sephiroth takes the moment to glance down at his chest where five lines cut through his shirt and slashed at his flesh. It only took the Ex- SOLDIER a moment to realize the injury came from a claw. "Oh my god." Sephiroth hears Rima say from behind him. Sephiroth glances back up, taking in his opponent's appearance for the first time. What he sees, shocks him.

Standing a height of 5'9", a young man stared at Sephiroth with crimson eyes. Long black hair slides down just above his middle. Decked out in a black attire, black pants and black long sleeved silk shirt, the man could easily disappear in darkness. At the end of each lean muscular arm were hands with their own claws. His face has blood dripping off his chin. The smirk he wears reveals a pair of long sharp fangs, too similar to Rima's for comfort.

The young vampire opened his mouth and hissed through his fangs, much like a snake. Sephiroth readied himself, standing back up. "What are you?" Sephiroth calls out coldly.

"Tee hee hee hee! Don't you know yet?" The vampire calls out, "My existence should make it obviousss. What other vampire do you know?"

"No... No It can't be." Rima says, "Hojo said he killed you!"

The young vampire smirks more, "Removed." he corrects. "He said he removed me. Not killed. You miss understood."

Sephiroth's brows furrow in question, not fully understanding what's going on, "You mean you're..."

"Yesss... I'm her son! Tee hee hee! The child she harbored unknowingly until Hojo captured her all those yearsss ago. And you." The vampire's eyes narrow, "You are my father." He spat out in disgust. "Hojo has labeled me Project Revival, in hopesss of bringing back the vampire race. I prefer to be called Seraph, so I will alwaysss be reminded of you and mother."

Sephiroth brought his sword up, posed to attack, "Whether you speak the truth or not, I don't care. To me, you're nothing, just like Hojo. You want to kill me, then try. I won't hold back because of your claims."

Seraph cackled to himself, "I wouldn't expect anything less."

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'After all, we are of the same blood. Blood which I plan on taking from you.'

(Yawn) Wow... It's late.. Sorry folks. Don't feel like pulling an all nighter so I'm going to have to end it here. Surprise ya? Heeheehee! I've been planning this moment out for a long, long time. Bet y'all thought the whole 'Voice in Sephiroth's head' was Hojo to the very end. Didn't ya? Although I planned this out for a long time, I must admit, it didn't happen quite like I wanted. Oh well, it's out of the way now. Expect the next chapter to be long. I suggest you get all essentials, snacks, drinks, etc. Well, until next time! ReViEw!


	11. Ominous Shakes The Planet

Woohoo! One hundred review special! Is something I would be thinking, if I hadn't had such a pain in the ass day. Boy oh boy, was this a very interesting day. It was starting out as normal enough. Wake up, have ma take me to baseball practice. Finish practice and go home. Or rather try to. We were on our way and then some dumbass crashes into the side of my ma's Ford Escape making her spin and ram into the side of some house. My sister and mother in the front, wearing seatbelts. I'm in the back without my seatbelt on, I'm being tossed all over the place, and then when we hit the house I almost fly out of the windshield. Luckily I grabbed hold of the seats and stopped myself. I only got a few bumps and bruises, my sister has a severe sprained pinky I think, lol, and my ma got a concussion. Ugh... That dumbass guy in the jeep ran right through a damn stop sign and smacked into us. I don't know where he thought he was going, there was a lot of traffic going both way. And he happens to not see my ma's escape. How can you not see a big bright YELLOW truck coming?

On the plus side... Guess what I figured out everyone? Square-Enix is making a sequel to Final Fantasy VII! And no I don't mean the movie Advent Children... An actual playable version for Playstation 2! And won't believe who the main character is. It's Vincent! No joke, our gothic gunslinging, demon changing, ex-Turk is the main character in the sequel. I've seen a few screen shots for it, it kind of has a Metal Gear Solid feel to it if you know the game. The plot hasn't been given out much. Apparently there's these soldiers called GR or GD soldiers, and Vincent is connected to them somehow. I've see Cait Sith in two screenshots as well, just the black cat, not the giant moogle. But it's frickin AWESOME! The game looks so sweet! But unfortunately it won't be coming out for a long time. Final Fantasy 12 is coming out before it. I'm not much enthusiastic about Final Fantasy 12 though, it kind looks... dumb... But er... Damn.. Can't think of the name for FF7's sequel, the graphics are sweet, almost as good as Advent Children. The site I found out about FF7's sequel is... I believe it was I'll get back to y'all on that.

Enough of that though, let's get this on with.

Disclaimer- (Holds out a microphone to Vincent) So tell us Mr. Valentine, how is it that you became the main character for the playable sequel?

Vincent- ...

(Sweatdrops) I noticed you aiming your Death Penalty at one of the GD or GR soldiers. Any comments?

Vincent- I hit my target.

(Nods his head) Uh-huh, uh huh. It wasn't mentioned whether you can still transform into demons, or if you still have your demons. Care to fill us in?

Vincent- You'll have to wait and find out.

(Scratches his head) So how are you connected to these strange looking soldiers?

Vincent- I'm under contract, I cannot give out any information.

(Snaps his fingers) Drat! Alright... Can you read this for me? (Holds up a sign)

Vincent- (Squints at the small letters and reads slowly) Zack does not own Final Fantasy 7...

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Ominous Shakes The Planet

Sephiroth followed Seraph's movements, watching as the vampire disappeared into the darkness, only to reappear somewhere else in the room. All the while the vampire laughs and taunts as he notices the swordsman having trouble keeping track of his movements, "What'sss the matter? Can't keep track of me?" Seraph asks before slipping into the darkness once more.

Sephiroth had not made a move from his spot, only moving his eyes each time he catches sight of the vampire. Vincent and Rima remain silent in their containment, having no other choice but to watch, the scene unfold. Rima's torn between rooting for Sephiroth's victory, or pray that her, claimed to be son, doesn't get himself killed. Although she only just met him, Rima knew he was her son, as well as Sephiroth's, which means that he's a part of both of them, even if Sephiroth doesn't wish to believe that.

Vincent stood in his place, his eyes following the vampire's movements with ease. He could see the young vampire crawl across the walls and the ceiling, just to confuse his opponent. One would think that Seraph is somehow teleporting to different locations if they can't see what he's doing. Although the vampire's movements are what Vincent's focused on, his main concern is the reaction of the other two in the room. He knew that Sephiroth would have no choice but to fight, but how far the swordsman would take it, Vincent doesn't know. Killing someone who claims to be your son can't be an easy decision. But in the end, Vincent knows if it's forced to it, Sephiroth would go through with it.

"Do you plan on fighting, or just continue your tricks?" Sephiroth finally speaks, growing more irritated and impatient with each passing second. He doesn't exactly have all day to 'play' with this child.

"Teeheehee, are you getting nervousss?" Seraph asks, stepping into the light. "You should be, after all, I've been inside your head." Seraph points out, tapping his temple, "I know your thoughtsss, and your technique. You can't throw any surprisesss my way."

Sephiroth's expression doesn't change any, "Knowing one's technique is one thing. Using that knowledge to your advantage is another matter."

Seraph lets out a short laugh, "We'll see how confident you are after you're dead."

The faintest of smirks touches Sephiroth's lips, "Death is just the beginning of a new journey. It's a release from life's pain. One such as myself would welcome it if I don't have something to take care of first." Rima's brows lowered in confusion from Sephiroth's comment, "I release you from this world, but don't fear, I won't be to far behind!"

Sephiroth lunges forward, swiping the Masamune in a precise arc. The young vampire back flips onto the wall, well out of the Sephiroth's reach. He waves a finger at Sephiroth, "Tsk tsk tsk, you'll have to do better than that, old man." He taunts.

"And you, who says you'll kill me, have not done much but stay out of the fight."

"Ah... But you see, thisss isss just a test. I wanted to see if you'd actually attack me. No fun in killing you if you're not willing to fight to the death." Seraph cackles softly and holds out his hands. The claws on each of his fingers grow with blood dripping down them. "Now you're mine." Seraph lunges off the wall and down at Sephiroth, his claws drawn back ready to strike. Sephiroth leaps back quickly, getting out of the vampires way before he hurls the Masamune towards Seraph, catching him completely off guard. "Gwah!" The Masamune throws Seraph back against the wall. The sword impales into the wall, leaving Seraph stuck in his spot. "Damnit." Seraph curses in pain while trying to pull Sephiroth's sword out of the wall and his abdomen.

Sephiroth only stands there, staring coldly at the vampire, "Can't throw any surprises your way? I think I just did." Ignoring the vampire for a moment, Sephiroth heads back over to the Rima and Vincent's cell, quickly figuring out how to open it, thus, freeing them from their captivity. The three head back over to the young vampire, and watch as he continues to struggle to get free, blood flowing to the floor underneath him slowly.

"Are you really our child." Rima asks, more to herself than Seraph.

Sephiroth glances over to Vincent who's making it his intention to stay clear of the three. "Valentine... Shoot him."

Vincent looks to Sephiroth, surprise etched on his face. Rima turns to Sephiroth, "You can't be serious!"

"I am. He's just another enemy to us."

"He's our son!"

"One which I never recall you having." Sephiroth replies coldly, his eyes narrowing the slightest.

Rima shuts her mouth quickly, "I... Hojo said he removed him... before he experimented on me... I didn't know I was carrying him."

"Hojo is also a liar and manipulates other's minds." Sephiroth reminds her.

"Still... I believe he is our son." Rima replies quietly.

Vincent looks between the two, his Death Penalty held at his side, "What is your decision?"

Sephiroth glances over to Vincent, "Kill him."

"I didn't agree to that!" Rima shouts.

"I don't care."

Seraph begins to cackle, despite the situation he's in, "You best listen to father." He speaks to Rima, "Once I'm free, I'll try killing you once more."

Sephiroth holds out his hand saying, "There you have it. Now kill him."

"No!" Rima shouts, "I don't care what you say or what he plans on doing, I won't let him kill our child. Don't you even care?"

"A child would be one we are there for, to watch him grow and mature. This thing is not our child. Just another one of a madman's experiments." Sephiroth replies, his voice raising a bit as he becomes irritated and impatient. "He's in the way. So we have to get rid of him."

"No."

Vincent lowers his gaze to the ground, suddenly feeling rather uncomfortable standing there watching them argue. He doesn't really want to choose who to listen to, both look like they're about to kill each other. Vincent decides to do the only reasonable thing at that moment. He places the Death Penalty on the floor, "What you decide is between you two. However, I will not have a part of it in anyway." With that said, he heads out of the lab, leaving the two to decide what to do.

Vincent doesn't go far however, knowing that it would be best to move as a group, he waits for them outside the lab. From outside, he could still hear the two inside arguing, then there's the sound of a struggle. He can hear the young vampires laughter, who's obviously finding the two fighting an amusing sight. Vincent jumps to a start when he hears a single blast of the Death Penalty fired. He remains frozen to his spot as he strains his ears to listen more closely. Inside, he can hear the sound of someone crying. Not knowing what to expect, Vincent steps back into the lab, and takes in the scene in front of him.

Sephiroth stands in front of Rima, who's on her knees, crying into her hands. In the swordsman's right hand is the Death Penalty. Seraph remains silent, and motionless as his body hangs there on the Masamune. Sephiroth's expression remains neutral as he stares down at the woman on the floor.

'How could he do it? How could he kill his own flesh and blood. He was a part of us. A symbol of what we used to be? Does he not care anymore?' Rima thinks to herself as she mourns for the loss of the child she never got to know. 'Why does he have to always torture me? Doesn't the bastard have a heart at all?' The tears suddenly stopped flowing as her anger made itself known. Her anger quickly grew into hate. She feels the way she did before, when she thought it was Sephiroth's fault she turned this way, when she was hunting him down.

Vengeful...

She can feel herself slipping into that state once more, even coming closer to just grabbing hold of one of her daggers and attempt to slit Sephiroth's throat. The half-vampire gave a jolt of surprise when she felt Sephiroth lay a hand on her shoulder. Taking her hands away from her face she sees him kneeling in front of her. Her eyes become wide, and her mouth parts in surprise as she listens to his quiet voice, the meaning behind his words, not totally clear to her. But when he finishes, she doesn't exactly feel like slitting his throat anymore.

Rima remains in her spot, stunned frozen. Sephiroth tosses the Death Penalty back to Vincent before walking over to Seraph's hanging body. Grabbing the hilt of the Masamune, Sephiroth easily pulls the sword out of the wall, allowing the dead vampire to drop to the ground. The swordsman quickly sheathes the Masamune and with one last look at Rima, he heads out of the lab in silence.

Rima watches him leave, still too stunned by his words to do much of anything. After awhile Vincent leaves as well, leaving her alone to try and comprehend what exactly Sephiroth was thinking when he was speaking to her.

__

'We can always have more, Rima.'

Cloud, Yuffie, Tifa, Reno, and Red XIII were a bit surprised not to see a battle going on outside the base. Looking around in confusion, they can't help but wonder if everyone had died in the battle. "Where is everyone?" Tifa asks.

Reno shrugs his shoulders before lighting a cigarette, "Guess we're stuck here." He says calmly.

Yuffie looks over her shoulder to glare at the Turk, "So glad that you care SO much."

Reno shrugs his shoulders once, "Hey, can't help what you can't control, right?" A smirk suddenly crosses Reno's lips, "Besides, knowing Elena, she probably had everyone get into that damn airship to wait for us." As if on cue, the Highwind flew above them as it circled the area once more. The people in the ship, having obviously seen them on the ground, begins to land the ship, kicking up dirt and dust all over the surrounding area. Looking up towards the deck, the group sees the blonde Turk on deck waving down at them before throwing a rope latter over the side.

Cloud stares at the rope latter before scratching his head, "Well, shall we get going?" The group quickly begins climbing up the latter, minus Cloud and Tifa. Cloud frowns when he sees Tifa starring back at the base, "Relax Tifa, they'll be alright. We'll come get them later."

Tifa lets out a breath as her shoulders sag, "Yeah, I know. Let's go."

"Sir!" The pilot of the Highwind salutes Cloud when he enters the brig. "We spotted an enemy chopper take off the base a few minutes before your arrival heading Northbound."

"It must of been Dregon." Red XIII advises.

Cloud agrees with the beast, "Alright, head north. Find the chopper. That's our target."

"Yes sir!" The Highwind jolts as it takes off into a higher altitude before it speeds across the sky heading in the direction of the helicopter.

Cloud turns to Koa, "What's your report on the battle."

"We lost half of our forces, we cut the enemies forces down quite a bit though. They ended up fleeing from the battle when we got the upper hand. We did however, lose our leader in the fight." Koa said sounding exhausted.

"I'm sorry." Cloud says, "You should get some rest. We'll take care of the rest." Koa nods his head before heading off the brig. Cloud looks around, trying to find a certain ninja, "Where's Yuffie?"

Tifa couldn't help but giggle a little, despite the current situation, "She headed to the main hall saying... and I quote, 'Damn rust bucket always causing my insides to churn. Now I need to fill that damn puke bucket again.' or something along the lines of that."

The faintest of smiles crosses Cloud's face. 'It's a relief to know that Yuffie wasn't affected any while being held capture by Dregon.' "I think I'll go check on her." He announces before heading out.

It took a bit longer for Cloud to find Yuffie since she wasn't in her usual 'puke spot', as Yuffie has dubbed it. He instead found her outside on the Highwind's deck, partially hanging over the railing. "Yuffie?" Cloud calls out. He gets a sick groan as a reply, "Don't worry, we'll be there in no time at all."

"Yeah... then I can just puke on that bastard." Yuffie replies before picking her upper half off the railing to flash a grin at the blonde warrior. "What you doing out here?" She finally asks.

"Looking for you." Cloud admits.

"Oh, what do you need?" Yuffie asks, not feeling as sick as usual, 'Maybe I'm finally getting used to the cursed thing.'

Cloud walks up to her side and leans his back against the railing before shrugging his shoulders, "I dunno, just felt like seeing you." Cloud admits quietly.

Yuffie lowers her eyes to the deck shyly, finding it suddenly interesting, "Oh?" She replies, peeking up at him through her bangs.

Cloud catches her eyes with his own and gives a small smile, "You know, I was worried for a bit back there."

"Heh! I would've gotten myself out eventually! But thanks for getting me anyway."

Cloud shakes his head, "Yuffie..."

The ninja gave a short laugh. Taking a step closer, Yuffie wraps around her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest, "We just have to beat Dregon, then everything will be over?"

Cloud places his arms around her gently, giving a soft 'Mmhmm.' "It'll end today."

"I'm glad... Cloud?" Yuffie draws her head back a bit to look at his face, "Do you think after we beat Dregon, something else will come along?"

Cloud shrugs his shoulders, "I don't know. Why do you ask?"

"...I'm tired of fighting. I want to actually start having a real life. One that doesn't involve fighting for my life. Someone else should save humanity if there's a next time."

Cloud chuckles a bit, "You whine a lot, you know that?"

Yuffie's face puffs up in a scowl, "Well do you wanna have to fight for your life everyday of your life?"

Cloud shrugs, "I guess not. The two years of peace we had after Meteor was kind of boring though. Being stuck in Tifa's bar, watching people get drunk and having to kick them out when they can't pick themselves up isn't exactly fun."

Yuffie laughs into Cloud's chest while picturing him carrying a drunk over his shoulder. Then she pictured one ending up puking on Cloud when he carries them out and it made her laugh a bit harder, "Oh don't worry! They'll be no bar jobs for you. I'm dragging you to Wutai with me whether you like it or not. And you're going to help me rebuild it, and then it'll become repopulated."

"Than I guess you'll become the Lady of Wutai." Cloud says, "After all, you are technically the ruler of it now." Cloud smirks a bit, "Although I can only question your leadership qualities."

Yuffie takes a step away from him and punches him in the shoulder, "I'll have you know I'm a damn good leader! As a matter of fact, I'll be Wutai's best ruler ever! I'm even better than y-RMPH!"

Yuffie could feel her face go beet red at the feel of Cloud's lips upon her own. She returned it nevertheless. She wrapped her arms around Cloud neck and closed her eyes as Cloud drew her smaller form closer to his own.

'Midgar... is the perfect place.' Dregon reckoned. Not to hide, oh no, Dregon isn't hiding. He's preparing to finally get his power. Nothing is going to stop him now, not Valentine, or Strife and his measly little group of friends. No, the stage is set for Dregon, and he's ready for the action.

Standing in the largest clear area within the city, Dregon held his hands up to the sky above. His entire body shuck with anticipation as he began the chant. Everything around him seemed to be deathly quiet, as if the planet itself had gone silent to watch him perform the calling. A roaring began to grow, but Dregon ignored it, knowing that it was just the same people who meddled in his plans before. He won't be delayed any longer. Even the sight of the Highwind landing not to far away isn't going to delay him a second.

The once silent planet began to wake up. The wind blew across the city, howling throughout the area. Up above, the blue skies began to get clouded over by the darkest clouds ever to blanket the sky. Thunder cracked and thunder crashed all around. "Dregon stop!" He hears along with the sound of several pairs of feet racing towards him. Dregon doesn't stop however.

"Rise up above the Heavens

Your master is here

Bring fear once more with your power

I dare summon this beast here and now

Do not defy my calling

Rise up from the hell which your kept.

Awaken from the eternal rest

Rise up!

Rise up!

RISE UP OMINOUS!"

The group stops short as Dregon breaks out into laughter. The thunder and the wind seem to quiet down once more, as the planet becomes silent, except for Dregon's laughter. "Are we too late?" Red XIII questions, not seeing anything out of the ordinary except the weather.

The hair on the back of Yuffie's neck seem to stand straight up, something telling her that it is, and that they're in big trouble. 'But nothing's happening... Maybe... maybe something went wrong.'

"To hell with waiting to find out what's going to happen." Reno comments before running towards Dregon.

Halfway to him, the ground begins to shake as an earthquake begins to shake the city. The group struggles to remain standing on their feet as the tremors become more powerful. The weak structures around them begin to crumble to the ground, kicking up debris and dirt into the air. Than something that sounds like a large explosion erupts through the air as the ground tears up, spewing the Lifestream onto the ground. Just as everything had appeared, it disappeared just as quickly.

The group looks around in confusion as everything becomes silent. Dregon stares at the opening in the ground in anticipation, his eyes wide with excitement. Cloud as long as the others grab their weapons as they hear something coming out. Shock is written across everyone's face as the thing moving in the crevice leaps out onto the surface.

It has horns...

It has claws...

It has fangs...

And it was puny...

"This... Is it?" Tifa asks in confusion, staring at the small gray dragon looking creature. "Why did Dregon go through all that just to call this? It seems harmless."

Yuffie's brows furrow in thought as she stares at the creature. 'True, it does look harmless.'

The small creature stood no more than three feet tall. It's gray skin seems to shine, making it look sleek or leathery. On top of it's head sits four horns, twice the size of it's head. It's eyes are blacked out, giving them no hint of emotion within them. On the creature's forehead is a red crystal, imbedded in the skin. Several small fangs can be seen from the creature's mouth, and it's arms have four inch claws on each hand. Behind it's hind legs, a pair a tails swish back and forth as the creature looks around the area. All in all, the creature didn't look too dangerous.

"This... this is Ominous?" Dregon questions, as confused as everyone else, "But this cannot be. Ominous is suppose to be powerful, astronomical is size. It's suppose to be the ultimate beast. This cannot be the creature that I seek." Dregon says angrily as he walks over to the creature and kicks it in the side, "Damn this creature!"

The small dragon, supposedly Ominous, as Dregon called it, gave a small roar as it was struck. When it gets back onto it's feet it turns to Dregon and gives a small roar of some sort, baring its fangs at the man, "Silence you worthless creature!" Dregon orders. The small dragon's roar doesn't stop though, not for a second. The red crystal upon its forehead begins to glow brilliantly. Everyone watches the crystal flicker. Without warning, the small creature lunges forward at Dregon, quickly him off guard. The creature's horn sink into Dregon's chest. "Gah!" Dregon gasps as his back hit the side of a building.

"What the hell is this thing?" Cloud asks, confused. 'Is this what we're suppose to be worried about or not?'

The creature steps away from Dregon and looks across the area to where the group is standing. The creature lets out another roar, as if trying to scare them away. "What the hell is it doing?" Reno asks, ready to just pull out his handgun and shoot it in the head.

"I don't.." Yuffie stops as she hears the sound of moans filling the area around them. The rest of the group hears this also and they look around and see zombies flooding the area around them. The entire place becomes circles around them, as if they are being drawn to the small creature's screaming.

"What the hell is going on?" Reno says, not liking the looks of things, "And where the hell did these zombies appear from? I thought this city was wiped clean of them."

"It's Ominous." Yuffie whispers.

"What?" Cloud asks when he heard her say something.

"Ominous..." Yuffie repeats the name. "It's suppose to be the most powerful beast. More powerful than the summons."

"You mean to tell me that, that.." Reno points to the small roaring dragon, "Is suppose to be more powerful than even the Bahumat Zero, or the Knights Of Round? Don't make me wet myself!"

"Something's happening." Red XIII says noticing that the crystal on top of Ominous's head is shining brighter. A red sphere of light forms above the small dragon and then erupts, creating a crimson spiral above it.

The group glances around bewildered as zombies begin to be pulled off the ground, and flown towards the creature, as if the crimson spiral is some sort of vacuum. Yet the affects only occur to the zombies as each one around the area gets sucked into the spiral, disappearing into it. "What's it doing?" Cloud shouts over the howling wind.

"I don't know!" Yuffie shouts.

All the zombies disappear and the crimson light disappears along with them. The group remains still as they wait to see what's happening. The small dragon, Ominous, releases an earsplitting roar before an explosion of white light surrounds the area, blinding everyone momentarily. Several moments pass before the light fades, leaving the group to try and get their sight back into focus.

Once they're able to see clearly, they look back over to what used to be a puny dragon. What they got, is something much bigger, "This... Could be a problem... A big one." Reno states, not sure if he's up for the fight now.

That's it everyone! Sorry it has to end here. But to make up for it, I got a gift for y'all! The name of the playable sequel for FF7 is called Dirge Of Cerberus. I went on the internet to find everything again. You can look at the in order to find this out. I also got a brief summary of the game, which isn't much because there still hasn't been much details given out about the game.

Dirge Of Cerberus summary thus far- A group of soldiers that were forced under ground from Meteor come out and begin attacking villages. These warriors call themselves the Depp Ground Soldiers (GD Soldiers) Darkness has covered the planet since Meteor. It's up to Vincent's revolver to clear out the dirge. Vincent is somehow connected to these events somehow.

Again, Vincent is the main character. Cait Sith is in the game too somewhere. These are the only two characters seen so far. Vincent will be having help from other Final Fantasy 7 characters, but which ones, is still unclear.


	12. The Four Dragons

Okay, this is a rough estimate... But if I lengthen the next few chapters the way I intend to, and get things done the way I want it, then there should only be two or three chapters left in this story. Four if I choose to expand it beyond for a little more closing. Yes, believe it or not everyone, this story is finally coming to a close. Okay... lets get on with this.

Disclaimer- Malice- So am I going to make another appearance before this story ends?

(Smirks)- Yup you sure are! I have something special planned for you.

Malice- That being what?

(Whistles innocently)- Um, I don't own Final Fantasy 7

Malice- I'm speaking to you.

Yeah? And I'm ignoring you.

__

Defeating Bahamut

Although fear is the main expression across everyone's face, there's also confusion considering what they're up against. The small little dragon known as Ominous had indeed morphed into something larger. Another dragon, a dragon everyone has seen many times before.

Reno was the first to finally break free of his stunned state. He turned to Yuffie, knowing she's the only one that might know what's going on. "What a damn minute." Everyone's gaze snapped from the dragon to Reno, irritation and anger were clear in his eyes. "What kind of sick joke is this. What the hell is Bahamut doing here? Who summoned it?"

Yuffie's eyes moved back over to the summon Bahamut, it's black leathery skin shinning in the sun. The massive bat-like wings flapped slowly to keep it air born, "No one summoned it." She spoke quietly a first. She took in a breath and began speaking, louder this time, "In Wutai, we worship the dragon and serpent gods."

"You mean, more than just Leviathan?" Tifa asked.

Yuffie nodded her head before explaining, "It's said the dragon Bahamut is the adult form of Ominous. And if Bahamut is somehow defeated, it transforms into Neo, then Neo turns into Zero. Bahamut is a dragon controlled by anger and wishes nothing more than to kill. When trapped inside a summon, it's controlled. But it's set free now, and that's far worse than any of the Weapons if we let it roam free."

"So the power Dregon has been seeking this whole time was Bahamut. Why didn't he just steal our summon materias?" Red XIII questioned, confused by the whole ordeal.

"Because... When locked away in the materia, Bahamut loses it's strength. What we are seeing no is Bahamut without any restraints."

Cloud rested his sword on his shoulder, having heard enough, "I get it... So basically, all we have to do now is defeat all three forms of Bahamut. We've faced plenty of dragons in our travels. We've commanded Bahamut, Neo, and Zero enough to know what to expect. Alright guys, this is it. We end this today, we'll kill Bahamut and go home."

"Yeah.. but what happened to our summon materia that Bahamut was in?" Tifa asked before taking out the Bahamut materia she carries in her Minerva Band. Locked away in one of the slots of the band, Tifa pulled out what should have been a red summon orb, instead it was simply a glass sphere. "I guess this means we can't call on Bahamut's aid."

"Everyone get out of the way!" Reno shouted as he sprinted to the nearest building for cover. The group didn't even look to see what was happening, knowing that they should just trust Reno. As everyone separated from the area, Bahamut unleashed it's blast from it's mouth. The explosion shuck the entire fallen city with the devastating blast.

Bahamut remained hovering above, it's eyes starring down as if it wanted to see the effects of its blast. A bright crimson light shined in the cloud of dust, causing Bahamut to crane its head forward as if to see what it is that's shinning so brightly. A strong gust blew through the city, clearing the dust cloud, "Cosmos Memory!" Red XIII roared before releasing the energy he gathered up into one massive blast. The fiery crimson beam soared towards the sky, heading straight towards Bahamut. On pure instinct, Bahamut turned to the side to dodge the blast, but the dragon was a fraction of a second too slow and it's right wing was blown off.

The dragon's roar of pain shuck the ground as it began falling out of the sky. Cloud and the others watched in anticipation as it continued to fall. Finally Bahamut hit ground and that was their cue, "Everyone attack now!" Cloud shouted before running forward. The rest followed his lead. Bahamut lifted itself off the ground and onto its hind legs. Cloud leapt up to cut its head off with his sword. Even when grounded, Bahamut proved to be a difficult opponent. It knocked Cloud away with a slash of one of its claws, knocking Cloud into one of the remaining broken down buildings.

"Water Kick!" Tifa shouted as she leapt up and kicked the dragon in the head. She fell to the ground and looked up at Bahamut to see what kind of damaged she did. Bahamut starred down at her, the kick seemed to of done only one thing. Piss it off. Bahamut slashed one of its claws down towards her. Tifa was fortunate enough to roll away before she was killed.

Red XIII leapt up and dug his claws into Bahamut's head. With one paw, he began trying to scratch Bahamut's eye out to blind it. He managed to get the right eye before he was tossed back to the group. Bahamut's mouth began flaring up as it gathered another blast in its mouth. The group could only watch in horror as it prepared, knowing that they didn't have enough time to get anywhere safe. Bahamut let out a roar and shot its head forward to let out it's blast but it never got the chance. Instead Bahamut continued to fall forward, the sword thrust through its neck having effectively brought it down.

As it dropped, Cloud pulled his sword free from the dragon neck and smirked, "And that's why you never turn your back on me." Cloud leapt off the dragon and walked back to the group. Bahamut's body began glowing, soon it was shinning in a bright white light. Its body lifted off the ground. It began to grow, it got bigger and bigger, soon the group found Neo Bahamut starring down at them.

Reno let out an annoyed breath, "One down, two to go. Remind me to retire from anything involving fighting after this."

--

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Vincent asked cautiously, gripping his seat tightly as the copter went through a violent jolt. Rima seemed to ignore Vincent's question, putting all her focus on the controls in front of her.

Sephiroth remained calm in the seat next Vincent's. Though his eyes were closed, you could tell he was awake from the slight smirk on his face, "Do I hear fear in your voice Valentine?" Sephiroth asked amused, "Whatever happened to the man who has no emotions?"

Vincent could only glare at Sephiroth as his grip tightened to the point his claw cut through the cushion of the seat after the copter took another jolt. "I do not wish to die before we even go to battle. Nor do I feel comfortable letting someone without any experience pilot this machine."

"If I didn't have any experience flying these, then I wouldn't have been able to get it off the ground." Rima called back, having heard enough about her piloting skills, "Now both of you shut the hell up before I decide to crash into a mountain. We've already reached P.N.R."

"P.N.R.?" Vincent questioned.

"Point of no return." Sephiroth answered, "It means we've used up half of our fuel and there's no chance for us to go back."

"I said be quiet! I have to concentrate!" Both men fell silent, not wanting to anger the half vampire who literally has their lives in the palm of her hands.

----

"First thing's first." Cloud said to the group as they hid in the many buildings. They could hear Neo outside blasting the other buildings to try and flush them out, "We need to get it on the ground. That's when it's most vulnerable."

"And how, oh great leader, do you plan on getting that thing on the ground?" Reno asked frustrated and tired, "Getting the first one grounded was a fluke. And I doubt we'll be able to do that again."

"It'll continue to fly around the city and destroy the buildings, sooner or later it will get this one as well." Red XIII reminded them wisely.

"I have a plan." Cloud assured them, "Tifa should be back from the Highwind any time now."

"Unless Neo got her." Yuffie commented dejectedly.

"I'm back!" Tifa practically shouted. The group turned and glared at her, causing her to clamp a hand over her mouth, "Oh, sorry." She walked over and threw a pack that she was carrying in her other hand, towards Cloud.

"What's that?" Reno questioned as he threw a cigarette out a window.

"This." Cloud said holding the pack up, "...is a parachute."

"What the heck are you going to do with that?" Yuffie asked in wonder.

Cloud grinned, looking more or less excited. For some reason, he seems to be having fun fighting Bahamut. It could just be the thrill of the battle. "While you guys distract Neo, I plan on getting him to the ground." He explained.

"You want us to distract that thing." Reno asked in annoyance, already not liking the idea, "And how the hell do you want us to do that."

"You're a Turk Reno." Cloud reminded him, "Do what you do best, insult it." Reno's eye twitched, "Or.. you could stand out in the open and gobble like a turkey..." When it appeared Reno was beyond angry, Cloud shuck his head, "Honestly Reno, I don't know. Do what you can. I need you guys to distract it, make it come over to this building. I'll be hiding on the roof waiting."

Cloud stood up from the floor and began strapping the parachute on, knowing that he'll need it for what he's planning on doing. He wasn't really worried about it though. He's jumped out of the Highwind and into Midgar before. This isn't any different. "Alright. Move out!" Cloud ordered before raising towards the staircase. The group took a moment to collect themselves before heading out the building.

"Any ideas guys?" Tifa asked as she starred at the distant figure of Neo.

"Reno, you're good at pissing people off. What do you suggest?" Yuffie asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"We first need to get its attention." Red XIII pointed out. "I believe I can do that. But once it comes how do make it stand still?"

Reno smirked, "Leave that to me. Alright, Lockheart and brat, you two hide somewhere. Wolfie and I got this covered."

The two women did as they were told, and Red XIII wandered a few yards away from Reno, choosing to ignore the name Reno referred him to, "Are you ready Reno?"

"I was born ready." Reno assured.

"Right.. of course." Red XIII's gaze settled on a small building before he concentrated on one of the materias he's carrying, "Ultima!"

Neo prepared to blast another building when it caught site of an explosion in the Sector next to the one it was currently destroying. Without a moment's hesitation it flew towards the explosion. When it reached the area, it looked around and found Red XIII and Reno standing out in the open.

"Riiiiiight." Reno said as he stared up at Neo. He seriously doubted he'll get out of this alive. "Hey you oversized lizard! What the hell do you think you're doing blowing shit out of my city?" Neo didn't seem to understand a word he was saying, and if it did, it didn't let on. "I'd rather not have your nasty dragon snot all over my city." Reno had trouble thinking up insults when he was looking into the eyes of the messenger of death, "Uh... Have you seen Bahamut around? No? That's because we killed that scrawny little shit." Neo roared, causing Reno to smirk, 'Soft spot.' He thought to himself, "Bahamut sure was a worthless dragon. Tell me, why did it exist to begin with, was it to clean the big piles of shit you must lay around?"

Reno's face paled a bit as Neo began to lower itself, the dragon's eyes locked on Reno as its looking at its next meal. And in Reno's mind, that what he imagined Neo was thinking. 'Better hurry the hell up Strife.'

Cloud peeked over the edge of the building just as the monstrous dragon drifted down pass the edge. 'Now!' he told himself in his mind before leaping over the edge. He thrusts his sword into Neo's back to stop him from moving any. Neo roared in pain, and although it wasn't Cloud's original intention, Neo fell to the ground. Cloud drew his sword free from Neo's back, "Now everyone!" He ran across the scaly back of the dragon, heading towards the its head. Neo shot to it's feet, tossing Cloud back into Reno. It immediately shut to the air. "Damn!" Cloud cursed from his place on top of Reno.

"Get the hell off me!" Reno shouted before pushing the blonde off of him. The two stood up and immediately fell back down as the ground underneath them was lifted up into the air, "We're dead..." Reno said more to himself then to Cloud, knowing what was coming. The chunk of land they're standing on hovered in the air as Neo starred them down, gathering the energy within itself to release it's flare upon them.

Cloud did a quick survey of the distance between the edge and Neo. "I've got a plan." Cloud said before grabbing Reno's arm and dashing forward.

"Have you completely lost it Strife?" Reno shouted, his eyes wide. Though unsure of what the blonde has in mind, he too ran forward.

"Make sure you hold on tight Reno, or you'll fall to your death." Cloud told him

"What a pleasant thought." Reno muttered to himself as Cloud and him jumped off the edge and towards Neo. The dragon seemed to have been caught by surprise, not thinking that anyone would jump off the only thing keeping them alive. With his sword still in his free hand, Cloud slashed at Neo's left wind, he caught through the wing down half it's length.

Cloud's eyes widened as him and Reno began falling, Reno cursing the entire time. "Hold on tight Reno, I'm releasing the parachute." Reno continued to curse as Cloud pulled the string to release the parachute. The jolt almost caused Reno to loose his grip on the straps of the parachute. They both got the scare of they're life as Neo fell pass them, just missing them by a few feet. They watched from above as it fell onto the building the group was using to hide.

By the time the two literally crashed landed, it was clear that Neo had not survived the fall, having landed on its head. Already the dragon was beginning to change into its third form. "Now the real fight begins." Cloud said to the group as he undid the straps of the parachute. Reno looked more or less pissed about the whole parachute thing, having almost pissed himself when Neo fell pass them.

Neo's body lifted from the ground, as the familiar transformation took place. Everyone turned their head at the sound of a helicopter making it's way over. "Who the hell is that?" Reno questioned. The helicopter landed and shut down. For a few moments, no one came out of the helicopter, leaving everyone just starring at it in anticipation. Finally, the side opened up and three long awaited people hopped out.

"Rima! Vincent! and Sephiroth!" Yuffie called over to them. The three made there way quickly over to the group.

"I hope we didn't miss anything." Rima smirked, more than ready to fight.

"Whoa..." Yuffie said backing up a few feet from Rima, "What happened to you? You look... uh... different." Yuffie said, for lack of better words.

"Details are later. What's going on?" Sephiroth demanded upon seeing Zero taken flight.

"Oh.. to make a long story short, and without the boring details. We have to kill Bahamut, Neo, and Zero. We got the first two, now we just have to worry about..." Yuffie paused a moment as if something suddenly occurred to her, "...another..."

"Yuffie?" Vincent questioned, getting Yuffie out of her daze.

The ninja shuck her head to rid herself of her daze, "Um... yeah.. Kill Zero.. Worry about that right now." The four staggered about on their feet as the ground shuck as Zero landed on the ground in front of the other half of the group.

Cloud leapt forward and slashed his sword at Zero, only to be shocked to find that the silver scales covering Zero's body are indeed very hard. His sword didn't so much as leave a scratch. "This could be a problem." Cloud said to himself before he was knocked away like a rag doll.

"Grrr." Red XIII's fur seemed to stand up on end. The small flame at the end of his tail grew bigger as crimson light surrounded him, "Cosmos Memory!" Red XIII released his fiery blast of energy towards Zero. The dragon countered with its own blast. The two beams clashed, but Zero's proved to be more powerful, as it thrashed through Red XIII's and continued on until it struck Red XIII.

Vincent headed towards the dragon, firing rounds from his Death Penalty as he came closer to the dragon. The shots seemed to just ricochet of the dragons body. '_That's not working'_ Chaos's familiar voice appeared in Vincent's mind.

'I'm well aware of that Chaos.' Vincent informed him.

Sephiroth walked calmly towards Zero, a smirk slowly forming on his face as his wing sprouted from his back. He could feel the extra energy gathering inside of him already. He unsheathed his Masamune, his gaze remained transfixed on the dragon. Rima remained where she is, watching Sephiroth with fascination.

Tifa could only do her best at healing the others, having learned the hard way that her punches and kicks are in no way effective against Zero. Reno just merely stood off to the side watching the fight unfold, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Red XIII, in the worst shape from all of them thanks to Zero's blast, could barely lift himself off the ground. Cloud, Yuffie, and Vincent were doing their best trying to defeat the creature, with Cloud hacking away in the front and Yuffie and Vincent attacking from a distance.

Zero, having finally become fed up, or toyed with the group enough, took to the sky. Vincent continued to helplessly fire shots at the dragon in a desperate attempt to cause it some sort of injury. It flew far above Vincent's range however and turned to look down at the group, its wings seemed to expand. The group could only watch horrified as it gathered energy up for its flare.

"Everyone back away." Sephiroth ordered, taking his spot in the middle of the open.

"What are you going to do?" Cloud asked, not completely sure anything they do at the moment will save them.

A dark glow surrounded Sephiroth, and soon small bits of the Lifestream began circling him.

'If this doesn't work nothing else will.' Cloud thinks to himself, finally catching onto what Sephiroth is planning.

"I have fought long enough, I grow tired of constant battles. I wish nothing more for this all to end so I may have my final peace." Sephiroth called out at Zero, not sure whether the dragon could hear him or not, "A creature such as yourself should know when its dangerous." A ghost of a smile spread across Sephiroth's face, "Than again, perhaps you seek peace too. I'll grant you this wish." Sephiroth's hands shot up a massive sphere of power forming above him. He gave the attack all the energy he could will into it. Above him, Zero's form became blocked by the sphere, but he could here the dragon's roar as it released it's flare. "Let's test your strength." Sephiroth shouted before throwing his arms out in a way he would do if throwing something. The sphere of energy came to life and flew up, crashing into the flare Zero had released.

The group watched on edge as Sephiroth's sphere continued to press on, breaking through Zero's powerful flare. Finally the sphere exploded in a blinding light, causing everyone to shield their eyes. Zero's roar was muffled from the explosion.

Zero's body plummeted into the ground, and for once, the group could relax, knowing that the beast had been beaten. Sephiroth walked over to the dragon, it's body sprawled across a pile of rubble. He kicked it in the head lightly to see if it truly is dead. When he didn't get a response, he knew the dragon was gone. Sephiroth turned his back to Zero's beaten form and looked to the others, "It's done." He stated simply.

Midgar began to shake violently, the tremors causing buildings to tumble to the ground. "What the hell's going on?" Reno demanded before falling back on his rear end, not able to stand on his feet.

"Look!" Tifa shouted, pointing her finger over at Zero.

Sephiroth spun around, unsheathing the Masamune in the process. Zero remained standing, it's silvery body seeming to glow just like the Bahamuts before him. Sephiroth leapt forth, not wanting to wait to see what will happen. Zero's claw slashed forward, slashing Sephiroth across the chest.

"Sephiroth!" Rima yelled in shock as she watched the silver swordsman drop to the ground, his Masamune a good five feet out of his reach.

Sephiroth's face showed no sign of pain, he glanced up from his kneeled position as Zero drew its head back, it's mouth flaring up with energy. Sephiroth crossed his arms around his head, in a desperate attempt to block the inevitable attack. Zero unleashed its flare, the beam of light crashing into Sephiroth and continued on until it crashed into a distant building. When it finally passed, nothing was left that resembled Sephiroth, just the scarred land he was once standing on.

The group could only stare in disbelief at the death of the most greatest swordsman alive. And the thing that scared them most was the fact that Zero didn't seem to be down. It took to the air, its body glowing a bright white light. Zero's body began to reform right above them.

"Wait a damn minute! What the hell could it possibly turn into. Bahamut Zero is the last one damnit!" Reno shouted, his anger hiding the fear he feels.

"No!" Yuffie shouted disagreeing with Reno, "One more remains. Zero is not the most powerful one. The one that remains is what Dregon was aiming to control."

"Another Bahamut?" Tifa asked quietly in disbelief.

Yuffie nodded her head before turning her gaze back up to Zero, it's body becoming more bulky. Its neck became shorter and its head grew wider. Its mouth, which resembles mostly like a beak, shorten. The four silver wings molded together to form two enormous ones. The dragon's muscles grew three times in size.

"What is it..." Cloud said more to himself as he tried to catch a glimpse of the new terror.

"Bahamut Sin." Yuffie swallowed nervously, every muscle in her body seemingly trembling in fear, and she knows hers isn't the only one.

The dragon among all dragons set foot on the ground. Standing at the size of what Diamond Weapon had, the group of fighters appeared to be insects to the dragon's enormous size.

Rima continued to tremble, not of fear, but of fury, her fist shake violently at her sides. Sephiroth's death continued to replay itself over and over in her mind. Finally, she snapped. Drawing two daggers she rushed towards Bahamut Sin, "I don't care how big you get. I'll make sure you die in the most painful of ways!"

"Rima! Wait no!" Yuffie yelled out, trying to stop her.

But there was no getting through the heartbroken half vampire. Her fury rose to new heights and everything around her was a blur except the target in front of her. Bahamut Sin attempted to backhand Rima with one of its monstrous claws. Fortunately, with great size, it's movements are slow enough for Rima to leap over the arm and straight towards the dragons head. The dragon however, proved to have different plans, it slammed its head forward, knocking Rima to the ground with a bone chilling thud.

Dazed and confused, Rima has not chance of getting out of the dragon's way as one of its claws came crashing down, no doubt to smash her body into the ground. The ground shook when the claw hit the ground. Bahamut Sin leaned its head back, looking somewhat confused. It lifting it claw and found no trace of Rima.

Rima blinked her eyes, trying to tell her brain that she's seeing things, that the dragon had killed her and she's in a different place now. Every time she closed and reopened her eyes, he was still standing above her. There was no doubt in her mind, Malice had saved her.

"Don't be so foolish Seria." Malice spoke, shocking Rima even further, "Such actions will land you in a early grave."

"Cy-Cyrus?" Rima uttered in hope.

Malice smirked, though his eyes remained on Bahamut Sin, "I should have killed both of them when I had the chance. Now this monster is free to roam the planet." Rima turned her gaze back towards Bahamut Sin which seems occupied with the rest of the group trying to hack away at it. "Their efforts are in vain. They're all going to die. Nothing can stop this."

"There has to be a way." Rima said surely.

The familiar crazed look spread across Malice's face, the look that easily frightens anyone. "Perhaps I too will have my fun with it before I die."

"What are you talking about Cyrus?" Rima questioned slowly, trying to figure out what he's thinking.

"Goodbye Seria." Malice spoke, his voice held an unfamiliar warmth within. Just like that, Malice sprinted forward to join in the losing battle. Malice hurled several of his electrifying gadgets, imbedding themselves in Bahamut Sin's strong hide. Yet the electric jolts didn't seem to faze the creature at all, only get its attention.

Yuffie watched from the sides as Malice literally ran circles across Bahamut Sin's body while dodging attacks from the creature's claws and its massive tail which it uses as an extra method of attack. Her eyes continued to scan the creature's massive body, looking for any sort of sign of weakness. Her brows raise in surprise as Malice effectively blinded Bahamut Sin in one eye by shoving his weapon into its eye. Angered, and hurt, Bahamut Sin had enough. It struck Malice into the air, leaving him no place to run, nor anywhere to hide. The dragon let loose a beam of energy, crashing into Malice. His yell was heard even over the deaf defying blast.

Tears sprang into Rima's eyes as Malice was blown to pieces. 'No...'

"Move out of the way!" Rima's head shot up to see a ball of fiery energy coming straight towards her, as many others continue to be shot at the rest of the group. Rima's eyes widened as she stared at the oncoming blast. She felt herself pushed out of the way, sharp claws drawing blood from her shoulder from the force of the push as Vincent took her place.

Rima pushed herself off the ground and turned to see Vincent face down, his cloak shredded beyond recognition. "Valentine, you idiot!" Rima gritted between her teeth as she turned him over. A stream of blood trailed from out his mouth, his crimson gaze hollow and empty. Rima bit her bottom lip before placing two fingers on his neck to check for a pulse. She dropped her hand and her head when she found none. Rima growled before shooting to her feet and raising back towards battle.

The blood trailing out of Vincent's mouth seemed to defy the laws of gravity as it began to mouth back in. '_Vincent'_ The gunslinger heard the demon inside his mind. _'Vincent...'_ Chaos seemed to be reaching out to him, _'Don't die on me now. Let me fight this dragon.'_

'I'm... not dead?' Vincent confusion was easily read by Chaos, causing the demon to cackle.

__

'Do you honestly think the only thing I can do is bring about death? I'm restoring your body. When I do, you're going to release me.'

'I guess the only option is to transform.'

Chaos remained silent for a few moments before it spoke again, _'No Vincent. I want you to release me.'_

Vincent's crimson eyes blinked before widening as he seemed to come back to life. One thought went through his mind at that moment, _'Fight hard Chaos.'_

----

In a distant building, Sephiroth began stirring from unconsciousness. His brain felt like it was beating into his skull, and every bone and muscle in his body felt as if it were broken and torn. He managed to haul himself into a sitting position to look into the gaping hole he had created when he flew into the building. From a distance, he could see the group fighting yet another Bahamut, one he hasn't seen before. Sephiroth scowled and fell back down, "I'm finished fighting. I'm through with redemption."

----

Cloud collapsed onto his knees, thoroughly exhausted from battle. He had long since gathered the extra energy from his wing, and now it seemed that extra energy expired, leaving him weak and tired. The worst part of it all, was that he didn't seem to help any. Bahamut Sin took all his blows as if he were using a flyswatter.

His gaze traveled over to Yuffie as she stood there watching the battle unfold. She couldn't help much in battle, still weak from her ordeal with Dregon. Red XIII has been down for the count. Tifa could only cast magic if she hopes to cause any damage. Reno, as tough as the Turk is, didn't have much going for him against the monster. Rima continued to attack, although her daggers didn't seem to be doing much, she evidently ran out of ammo for her sniper rifle, having tossed that off to the side. And he isn't sure what happened to Vincent, once moment the gunslinger had been fighting, sometime in the fight he disappeared. Whether he was killed or severely wounded, Cloud can't be sure.

'There has to be a weak point in this thing.' Cloud thought to himself. He watched as Rima was knocked away, but instead of Bahamut Sin getting her while she is down, the dragon found its head in the delivery end of a familiar demon's fist.

Chaos smirked to itself as Bahamut Sin tumbled back a step or two. The demon spun in the air, dodging a group of short blasts from the dragon.

"It's Vincent!" Tifa shouted in relief, having though that the gunslinger was out of commission.

Rima forced herself to look up at the demon soaring above Bahamut Sin's head, dodging blasts from the dragon as it tried to knock the demon out of the sky. "How... He's dead." Rima said to herself, not sure what to think.

"I'm... far from dead." Vincent's voice shocked everyone enough to jump in surprise, before turning to see the crimson clad gunslinger staggering over to the group, his Death Penalty in one hand, while his claw arm is wrapped around his stomach and side.

"Wait.. whoa..." Yuffie began, resting her hand on her forehead as she tries processing what's going on, "Okay... you're here.. so who's..."

"I don't know how exactly..." Vincent admits, "But Chaos wished to fight without my conscious holding him back. So... I set him free."

"Wait.. You can do that?" Tifa asks, wondering why he never did it before.

"Chaos had been preparing for it earlier. He wasn't going to take any chances. I did not know that I could release him."

"Okay.." Cloud scratched the back of his head, "That gives us another fighter against this I guess."

Reno snorted in disgust, "And that helps? That one lunatic managed to blind its one eye, and that's all the damage done to it so far. How the hell do we kill it?" The group remained silent, Reno rolled his eyes, "That's what I thought."

----

Elena watched the battle from the bridge of the Highwind, "Isn't there anything we can do?" She asked as she starred at the massive dragon.

The pilot turned from the controls, "Well miss, our orders were to stay clear of the battle field."

Elena turned and glared at the pilot, "I want to know how to help in the fight you idiot!"

"Y-yes mam.. I realize that. The late captain Cid had kept this airship loaded with bombs. We used to drop them right onto his enemies from above." The pilot informed her.

Elena gave a thoughtful look, "Is there any left."

The pilot nodded his head, "Yes, plenty."

"Great! We'll use them! Prepare to attack!"

"Yes mam!" A chorus echoed throughout thee bridge.

'I'm coming Reno.'

--

"Chaos will not be able to handle that creature on his own for long." Vincent advised him, "He's buying us time to think of a plan. I suggest we think of one."

"Bahamut Sin's strength is far more powerful than all of the magic combined." Red XIII began, "Attacking it all at once has failed as well. I do not know of anything we have that can be effective against it."

"Damn..." Cloud cursed under his breath, "There must be a weakness..."

"I got it..." Yuffie whispered, the group turned to her, their eyes telling her to repeat herself, "I got it!" She announced in excitement, "I know it's weakness! I've been studying it! I think I really got it!"

"What is it already brat?" Reno ordered.

Yuffie grinned, impressing herself with her observations. "Remember Ominous?"

"That puny dragon?" Reno asked, "What of it."

"Well... remember that ruby it had on it's forehead." Yuffie pointed a finger at her forehead to explain, "Bahamut Sin has the same this in the middle of its chest. It has prevented all attacks from striking anywhere near there, where as he allowed itself to be attacked in the head and everywhere else. So I believe that..."

"If we destroy the ruby, Bahamut Sin will be destroyed as well." Cloud finished for her, his voice thoughtful, "Maybe that is the way we destroy it."

"How do we know it'll work?" Tifa asks unsure.

"We don't, but it's the only thing we have." Reno answered, surprising going alone with the plan.

"So we focus our efforts on one point of attack." Vincent nodded his head, agreeing with the plan.

"So what are we waiting for?" Rima asks, "Lets go."

Explosions surrounded the area, stopping the group from going through with their plan, "That's the Highwind." Tifa points out at the airship dropping explosives at Bahamut Sin.

Reno growls in anger, "Damnit Elena. What the hell is she thinking? She'll get herself killed!"

Bahamut Sin spun its head from side to side, trying to keep track of the airship while fighting trying to swat Chaos away. Aggravated, Bahamut Sin expands its wings and leaps into the air, above the airship, it's mouth flares up as it prepares to blast.

"No! Elena, get out of there!" Reno shouts out at the Highwind.

Dozens of small neon green energy blasts swirls around the Highwind, as if trying to surround it completely. Then as if on cue, everyone single one of them shoot up and fall straight down at the airship, blowing it out of the sky. The group watched shocked as the burning airship crashed into the city a few sectors away.

"E-Elena." Reno dropped to his knees in disbelief not willing to accept what he just saw.

"Reno?" Yuffie tried calling out to him, "Reno? We have to go."

The Turk hung his head in defeat, "Leave me alone..." Yuffie looked to the others, they just shook their heads before they ran forward.

"How do we get it now? It's in the air." Tifa asked looking up to the dragon flying in the air. They stopped short as they watch Chaos fall from the sky, evidently done fighting.

"Whatever you're going to do, you better do it fast." Rima says noticing that Bahamut Sin's mouth is beginning to flare up again, "I think it's done playing around, it's going to finish us off once and for good."

"Damnit... We don't have anything that will reach him..." Cloud turns towards Red XIII, "You think you have the energy to and aim to get it?"

Red XIII crouched down on the ground, his flame on his tail growing, "Even if my body doesn't have the energy, I'll force myself to do it once more." Yuffie and the rest watch as Red XIII gets covered in a crimson light, his fur stands on end as a small fiery sphere of energy gathers above him, "For the planet. Cosmos Memory!"

Bahamut Sin's yellow gaze caught sight of the crimson beam flying straight towards him. It let out a roar before it released its flare. The two blasts clashed with one another.

Yuffie held her arms up as everyone watched the two energies continue to push one another back. 'I hope this works.'

Bahamut Sin's flare, and Red XIII's Cosmos Memory finally stopped as both blasts cancel each other out. Bahamut Sin tilts its head up, preparing to unleash another flare. It's eyes seem to widen however as another beam comes soaring towards him, this one bluish tint to it.

Time seemed to pause as Yuffie's All Creation crashed into Bahamut Sin. From within the beam, Bahamut Sin's ruby slowly began to crack, then finally, it shattered into a hundred pieces. The dragon's roar echoed across the land, it's body began to slowly fade away. And through all the battles, through all the deaths, and harsh journeys, the group had finally succeeded in bringing peace back to the planet.

Yuffie fell back on her rear, exhausted from her attack, "We finally did it." The group remained silent for a few moments, remembering the past year that they've been fighting. "AH!" Yuffie screamed as Chaos landed in front of her. "Don't do that! GAWD!"

Chaos turned and looked at Vincent. The gunslinger, as if reading the demon's thoughts, nodded his head. Chaos turned and looked to the group, words came out of the demon's mouth, words foreign from everyone there except Vincent. Once finished speaking, his body turned white and then disappeared, back to where he belongs.

"Um... Did anyone understand that?" Tifa asked, still kind of trying to believe that the battle is finally over.

A smile crept its way across Vincent's face, "He said, 'You fight well for humans. Perhaps I'll fight you next time."

"I think I'll pass." Yuffie let out a breath and sprawled out onto the ground.

Rima kept her gaze to the ground, not sure what she'll do now. Her gaze lands on the Masamune, in the middle of the battle torn clearing. Walking over to it, she picked it up and held it in her hands, "So long Sephiroth." She said out loud, her voice strained with unshed tears.

"Since when... is anyone... allowed to touch my sword?" Everyone turned around and starred in shock at the beaten and bruised Sephiroth. He remains leaning on the side of a building to help support his weight, "It took you fools long enough... You weren't expecting me... to do everything... were you?"

Cloud grinned at the fellow swordsman, "Great to see you made it out alive, Sephiroth."

Rima's fist shook in anger, her grip on the Masamune tightening, "You son of a bitch!" She spun on him, her eyes ablaze with fury, "Do you know how worried you had everyone? We thought you died damnit! And you come waltzing over like nothing ever happened?"

Sephiroth shrugged the best of his capability in his condition, "Would you rather me complain how much I'm hurting right now?" Rima's eyes twitched, causing Sephiroth to smirk.

Yuffie rolled her eyes and looked to their leader, "So now what?"

Cloud sheaths his sword and grins, "Now..." He glances around at the group, finding them al paying close attention to him, "Now, we go home."

Alright everyone, listen up. I'd like to point out a few important things here... Well, first thing is, I've had writer's block for this chapter for like... forever! I had no idea what to do. This chapter is a sad one... It's the results of it being forced and uncared about... I just want this fic to finally be finished. It's been over a year now, it should've of been finished before... So.. Here's the deal y'all. The next chapter is the last chapter. No joke, no playing around. The LAST. Never again will this be updated after next chapter. I thank everyone who has shown an interest in this fic and has reviewed it. I'm also going to point out that Bahamut Sin, or Sin Bahamut, whichever it is, is actually an Advent Children character, it's where I got the idea. But next chapter is it, I'm sorry if some are you are disappointed, and I know some of you CoughDieCough Are jumping for joy now, but I have long since lost interest in this fic. Too long for my tastes.

Thank you for listening to my rants lol. Ta-ta! Till the next and final chapter!


	13. A Day Of Rememberance

It's finally come everyone... The ending... the final chapter... I can finally say that this story is complete... let me apologize once more for the abrupt ending. But I can't continue to force myself to write more on a fic that I have no desire to continue. It's been too far gone. I thank everyone who has read and reviewed, and who has contributed to the growth of this fic. This story never would have made it here without all of you. But enough of all this.. I've delayed the closing for long enough. By the way, I have a special announcement at the end of the chapter for everyone. I hope it interests you as much as it does me.

Disclaimer- Well... This is officially the last time that I'll have to do this thing.

Malice-You... killed me...

(Sweat drops) Sorry... But it had to be done

Barret- Yo killed me too fool!

Uh...

Cid- What the fuck were you thinking killing me off in this fic?

Um... Bad luck on your guys' parts? I just randomly picked you.

Malice-Barret-Cid (Taking out their weapons) Kill him!

(Eyes widen) Idon'townfinalfantasy7(Runs off with them closely following.)

__

A Day Of Remembrance

Yuffie stared out the window blankly, watching as the rain pelted the surface. She's no longer fazed by the sight or sound of thunder and lightening. She had looked death straight in the face so many times in her young life that she couldn't be frightened by such petty things now. Yuffie just wanted to live the rest of her life in happiness. The beginning of her happiness happened two weeks ago, three week after Dregon's death. Cloud had finally confessed his undying, unconditional love, that made everything that had happened all worth it.

Okay... So really it was more like the combined effort of Tifa and herself to probe it out of the blonde swordsman, but that's besides the point. What mattered was that Cloud loves her, and with that firmly stuck in her mind, she'll have something to look forward to everyday she wakes up. She could just set her head down, and recall every exact detail of the moments she's shared with Cloud, intimate and not.

So where exactly is Yuffie Kisaragi, the Greatest Female Ninja ever to walk on the face of the planet? In Kalm of course. It was one of the few towns that had received the least amount of damaged, Yuffie isn't the only one in Kalm either, everyone is. Cloud, Tifa, Vincent, Red XIII, Rima, Sephiroth, and occasionally Reno drops by. Everyone was staying at the Kalm for now, to recover and help around the neighboring villages. Midgar was officially announced dead, and uninhabitable, having taking the blunt of the final battle with Sin Bahamut.

Today the little house they got was busy however. Everyone was running around preparing for the final 'Hurrah!' party before the group finally departs once more. For Yuffie, it wasn't something to be happy about, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't going to miss everyone. After been told, in a not so decent way by Reno, that she's useless, she decided to stay out of everyone's way and just let them prepare for the party. It's not like she'll complain that she gets to take it easy.

For the past five weeks, Yuffie had been observing the group closely, when her attention isn't focused on Cloud like usually, and she had taken notice of several little love triangle within the group. She had also decided that it was no surprise. For as long as she can remember being in AVALANCHE, there was always one or two love triangles floating around in the group.

Sephiroth and Rima were easy to pick out, they ignore each other so much that their obvious avoidance of each other has deeper, more intimate reasons behind it. Vincent seemed to have taken a liken to Rima, though he rarely proceeds with his feelings, which came as no surprise to the ninja. On more than one occasion she saw Vincent with Rima while Sephiroth glared at both somewhere close by. Yuffie was surprised at Sephiroth's restraint on just unsheathing his Masamune and attack Vincent. She gave her Ex-enemy brownie points each day he doesn't kill Vincent. Vincent is too good of eye candy for Yuffie to have killed, even though she has Cloud.

Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, depending on how you look at it, Yuffie had noticed a sort of closeness between Tifa and Vincent. Now how that had actually even began to form, or when, the ninja couldn't figure out. And whether that either one of them has any real deep feelings for one another is something else she couldn't figure out. Tifa had years of practice keeping her true emotions sealed away with Cloud, and Vincent was just plain Vincent. You could never tell what he's feeling, if anything, or thinking half the time. So the two of them combined forms a mysterious possibility.

Yuffie had been hoping that someone from the triangles would make some sort of step forward and break the three ways for good before everyone left. One, because Yuffie wanted to be there when it happened, and two, she doesn't like finding things out months after things had happened. She's not even sure where everyone is going after tonight. She only knows that Cloud and her are going to begin searching for workers to hire, and bring them to Wutai to begin rebuilding it. Yuffie had promised herself that she would bring the town back together, and she will.

"Yuffie?" Even now, after knowing him for a couple of years, she loved the sound of her name lulling off Cloud's tongue. She just plain loved hearing his voice actually, it didn't matter if he said her name, he could call her a brat and she'd still love to listen to him.

Turning her gaze from the window, Yuffie glanced at Cloud as he stood in the door way of their room, that's right, 'their' room. Yuffie could make herself feel giddy whenever she wanted by just reminding herself that she sleeps in Cloud's arms. Even with thousands of battles having been seen through his mako glow eyes, they still could hold the softness of a young boy. She loved his eyes. "Yeah?"

Cloud gave his infamous scratch behind his neck with the lopsided smile that usually follows that only drive Yuffie nuts to see. "I thought you'd like to know that the party is going to be starting soon."

"Everyone's already gathered downstairs?" Yuffie asked, though she knew it was a pretty stupid question considering they all have been downstairs helping setup for the party.

Cloud, nevertheless, gave a short nod, "They're just waiting for us."

"Well I guess I better not hold it up anymore. Yuffie Kisaragi is hitting the part-eh!" Cloud just rolled his eyes. Yuffie will always be Yuffie, through thick and thin, bad and good, sickness and in health, she'll never lose her charm, even when facing death in the face. But luckily, she doesn't have to do that last part anymore.

----

The party itself, was alright. It seemed to drag on, and everyone knew this, but no one truly wanted to start the final goodbyes. Reno had tried tempting Cloud into a beer chugging contest, but seeing how Reno was already drunk at the time, Cloud could have been chugging water and the Turk wouldn't have known it. Reno had to stick with chugging by himself. Although he did manage to slip Yuffie a drink or two, which only proved to everyone how much Yuffie can't hold her own liquor.

Cloud had on more than one occasion, had to chase Yuffie around while the group sat back and laughed. One incident ending with Yuffie someone hanging on the chandelier while slapping her rear end like a monkey taunting its predator. The group found it as a good laugh though. Halfway through the party, they received a letter from a messenger in Bone Village. It was a letter from the ever devious Treasure Hunter, Daisuke, they had not forgotten to invite to the party. It was an apology saying she wouldn't be able to make it, having discovered a new artifact to hunt down.

Currently, everyone has their own section in the room. Red XIII and Vincent were standing in one of the far corners, conversing with one another, Sephiroth leaning against the wall not too far away. The girls, Yuffie, Tifa, and Rima, were all huddled in one area, Tifa's face resembling the appearance of a tomato, while Yuffie and Rima continued to look amused. Cloud and Reno sat in the front of the room, at the only table in the room, Reno with his beer, and Cloud with his glass of water.

The blonde haired swordsman glanced at the Turk out of the corner of his eye from his seat next to him, "So what do you plan on doing? Midgar is beyond anyone's wish to try to repair."

Reno seemed more sober than earlier on that evening, at least enough to hold a conversation with. "Dunno... Elena's dead, Rude's dead, Reeve's dead... The Turks are pretty much nonexistent now."

"You're still a Turk." Cloud tried pointing out helpfully.

Reno took a small drink from his bottle of beer, "Ah quit.. Getting too damn old to keep living by doing another's dirty work."

Cloud swirled the water in his glass with his hand as he stared at it, "Wanna join AVALANCHE?" He already knew the answer before he heard it. He had already asked Reno three times within the last five weeks, and the answer was the same all three times.

"Sorry Strife, I ain't picking up after your scrawny ass. Find someone else." Even half drunk, Reno kept with his own personal beliefs, whatever they may be. "I'll find a nice clean desk job elsewhere."

Cloud nodded his head and was about to say something when he heard Yuffie break out into bawls of laughter. He turned in his seat to see what was happening. What he got was a ninja doubled over as she laughed at two of his companions. Tifa's face, for lack of better words, were as redder than a tomato as she tried to hide her face behind her hands. Vincent's face, although not red, was flushed as he stared blankly ahead of himself, looking rather confused.

Although he couldn't be sure exactly, Cloud had a pretty good idea to what had happened, and his suspicion was only proven when Yuffie started jumping around the two, pointing a finger at them while she chanted, "Tifa kissed Vinnie! Tifa kissed Vinnie!" It took Tifa's skillful martial artist skills for her to stick her foot out and drip the giddy ninja. But even when on the ground, Yuffie was still all giggles.

Cloud decided to take pity on his two friends and use the moment to call for everyone's attention with a tap of his glass with a knife. Everyone immediately glanced his way, awaiting for him to speak. Cloud ran his hand through his spiked locks, "Well everyone.. this is it. The last 'Hurrah!' before we go our separate ways once more. Although I hope we aren't forced together once again by such circumstances again. Through all our hardships, we've lost valuable members to our group, and gained more." Cloud turned his gaze to the Turk, "Reno, although you don't wish to be a part of AVALANCHE, I know I can count on you if your presence is ever needed."

Reno waved him off over his shoulder, "Yeah, yeah."

The swordsman turned his gaze towards, quite possibly, the most unique one in their group, "Rima... You helped us along the way. We couldn't have survived with you there to back us up. I'm honored to call you a friend and comrade in battle. And off the record. "Cloud gave a nervous glance around, "I hope you never decide to try and attack me. I kind of have slight phobia for vampires."

Rima bared her fangs and gave a sharp chomp motion over to him, "I'll have to remember that for later."

Cloud shook his head in embarrassment before his gaze settled on the most likely person to have become his ally. Sephiroth beat him before he could say anything however, "Don't bother. I had my own reasons."

Cloud just nodded his head at his fellow swordsman, "You have my gratitude and always welcome among AVALANCHE."

Reno stood up from his seat and took a moment to stretch out his sore muscles, "Well, it's been, eventful. But I'm leaving, places to go people to see."

Cloud nodded his head once, "We'll see you around."

"I must head off as well, I'm afraid. I need a catch to first ship leaving Junon if I want to get to Cosmos Canyon." Red XIII walked over to the swordsman and held his paw out. After a good shake, and a farewell to the rest of the group, Red XIII left the party, followed closely by Reno.

Cloud scratched the back of his head, 'Seems like it's actually starting.'

"Anyone see Rima?" Tifa asked glancing around the room.

Yuffie shrugged her shoulders, "She probably left. She doesn't look like the type to take a moment for a final farewell."

"..." Sephiroth pushed himself off the wall and headed towards the door, "I'm leaving." He announced. The group shared a few glances with another but didn't say anything to each other as Sephiroth walked out.

Sephiroth stood outside the door for a moment, he ran his hand through his hair than rested the said hand on the hilt of the Masamune. He unsheathed the Masamune and headed out of the village where he would get some final moments of peace. "Where are you going?" Sephiroth stopped at the sound of her voice, "And what are you planning on doing with that?" Rima pointed down at the sword in his hand.

Sephiroth face remained neutral as he turned around to face her, "There is still a zombie that walks across this planet... I intend to get rid of it."

"So you're just going to kill yourself? Just like that?" Rima hissed in anger, "You're not a damn zombie Sephiroth! If you were you wouldn't be yourself."

Sephiroth resolve didn't weaken the least, "Than what am I? From time I was brought back, my appearance hasn't changed in the slightest, I haven't aged a day. If I'm not a zombie, what am I? I do not wish to live on this planet for an eternity alone."

Rima's gaze went to the ground, and for the first time since Sephiroth has known her, she looked fragile, as if she were about to be broken, "Stay with me Seph. Don't do this... if you did, who would I be left with?"

Sephiroth turned his head and looked off to the side, "There's always Valentine." He had to force himself to actually say it, as much as he didn't want to admit it, Vincent had worried him from the beginning.

"Vincent?" Rima questioned. Just hearing her say his name with such ease brought a sour taste in the back of his mouth. Rima shook her head at the swordsman, "You idiot... I don't love Vincent, he knows that too."

"Than why have you been avoiding me these past weeks?" Sephiroth asked in annoyance.

"You dumbass, you were avoiding me!" Rima said angrily as he marched up closer to him, "And besides that, isn't it the man's job to make the first move? You know what? If you're going to be a coward about it, than maybe you should just ki-"

Rima's eyes widened a bit as she felt Sephiroth's lips on her own, having been caught off guard. Her surprise quickly disappeared as she quickly returned the gesture. Sephiroth's sword clattered on the dirt as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He could feel Rima's longer fang brush against his button lip as her arms came around his neck. Suddenly he gave a jolt of surprise as Rima bit into his lip, he immediately felt the blood escape. He pulled back and wiped at his mouth while giving Rima a slightly shocked expression.

Rima just stood there, her smirk causing her fang to protrude from her lips, "Now you're mine Sephiroth."

Sephiroth wiped at his mouth again before his own smirk crossed his features, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"You know... you still owe me another child now." Her smirk only widening at the comment.

Sephiroth rolled his eyes.

(Back at the party)

"So what do you think happened?" Tifa asked gazing out the window as she thought about two certain people.

Vincent who took his spot against the wall next to the window, closed his eyes in thought, "I suppose we won't know."

"Well you seem just fine by that." Yuffie said smugly, "I bet it's because Tifa-"

Cloud took that precise moment to but his hand around her mouth, "Yuffie..." He said in a stern voice, "Didn't we just discuss that you shouldn't talk about such things in front of people?"

Yuffie nodded her head silently and Cloud removed his hand. Yuffie turned around and to face Cloud, "Which reminds me. I find out why I've been feeling so sick the last couple of days." She announced.

"What did the doctor say?"

"She didn't go to the doctor." Tifa stated as she turned around from the window to join the conversation, "I had a pretty good guess what it was so I did a test."

Cloud gave a bewildered look, "What sort of test?"

"A pregnancy test, of course!" Yuffie chirped as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Cloud's face immediately began to lose color, "Wh-what?" He asked as if he hadn't heard right.

"I'm pregnant Cloud! You're gunna be Daddy Cloud!" Yuffie grinned from ear to ear. Cloud to his credit, managed to pass out without banging his head too hard on the floor. Yuffie immediately started laughing, "I told you he'd freak out Tifa!" Yuffie said between laughter, "I can't wait to see the look on his face when I tell him I was joking!"

"Actually Yuffie..." Tifa started as she found her hands a bit interesting, "I was lying when I said the test came out negative. You really are pregnant."

Yuffie's laughter immediately stopped as the look of shock ran spread across her face, "Wh-what?"

"You're going to have a baby Yuffie." Tifa announced.

Yuffie immediately began laughing once more, more of an insane laughter than anything, "I guess I won't have to tell Cloud anything! My child is going to become the Second Greatest Ninja ever to walk this planet, second to me of course. Because no one will ever match up to me!" Yuffie laughter echoed throughout the room, "And the Kisaragi line lives on once more!"

Vincent just gave the two a frightened look, "I just hope it doesn't turn out like Yuffie."

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd that's a wrap you'll! Yup, yup! This story is finally complete! Let's take a moment to cheer! HIP, HIP, HURRAY! HIP, HIP, HURRAY! HIP, HIP, HURRAY! HIP, HIP, HUR- Oh yeah! The special announcement!

Although this is the end of this story (Finally!), it's the beginning of a new one. That's right everyone, there IS a sequel. Hold your cheers for a moment so I can explain something. It's a sequel yes, but I'm not righting it, I have no desire to continue this. But I will be reading and reviewing the sequel The sequel is going to be called, 'Engraved Hearts'. And it's going to be done by our very own Hikari-Die, how about a round of cheers? (Crickets chirp) Heeheehee! So if you want to read the sequel, look for Hikari-Die or 'Engraved Hearts' It is not under me, nor do I have anything to do with it except that it's the sequel to Cry Of Eternity. So all credit goes to Die . Alright, I thank you all once again to for reading this story. Now I just need to get around to finishing all my other stories (Sweatdrops)


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